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Book K 1 v 

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A\5TORY* OP-THe- PIR5T 
“POVRTH • OP • JVLY”- CtLe- 
BRATJON • NeW-YORK- 1776 
BY 

JKMZ5 • on 3 


THOMR5 Y- C ROWeLLRN13-C? 
42.6-2.8 • WC5T- BROADWAY 
New- YORK • • MCM1V 


?\ 

i' )LLV3TRnrero-i3Y- CLYiae-o-pei-nNif)-' } 


■ S3BB s JB3MMMU: 

LIBRARY of CONGRESS I 
TWo Copies ReoHved 

AUG 1 1904 

Copyright Entrv 

^°<v - / <\ & *f 

CLASS CU XXo. No. 

Ofz / 7 f 

/ COPY B 




Copyright, 1904, 

By Thomas Y. Crowell & Company. 


All Rights Reserved. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Declaration 5 

II. King George’s Statue 23 

III. The Spy 41 

IV. Aiding an Enemy 59 

V. The Search 77 

VI. A Dilemma 95 

VII. Master Dean’s Bewilderment. . 113 

VIII. The Conflagration 130 

IX. Lieutenant Oakman 119 











DOROTHY’S SPY 


CHAPTER I 

THE DECLARATION 

Dorothy Dean opened her eyes a full half- 
hour before the sun peeped in at her window to 
give notice that the ninth day of July, in the 
year of grace 1776, had begun. 

Although Dorothy was no more than ten years 
old, she had a very good idea of the excitement 
and bustle which would be apparent in the 
streets of New York on this particular day. Her 
father was a member of that association known 
as the Sons of Liberty, and many times had she 
heard him talking with Masters Sears, Lamb and 
Livingston about a certain Declaration of Inde- 
pendence which it was believed the Congress at 
Philadelphia would adopt. 

Then, as it chanced, after the passage of the 
Declaration, she was walking with her mother in 
the vicinity of Fraunce’s tavern at the very mo- 
ment when the post rider from Master Penn’s 
5 


6 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


city dashed up amid loud huzzas of the bystanders, 
with a copy of the document which it was be- 
lieved marked the birth of a new nation. 

She had heard all who visited her parents dis- 
cussing this message to his majesty, King George, 
and not a few openly condemned such an act on 
the part of the members of Congress as rank 
treason, which would surely be atoned for by 
death on the gallows. At such times as these 
Master Dean defended the right of the colonies 
to form a nation of their own, since the English 
government did not allow them any voice in the 
making of laws which applied particularly to 
them, and then it was that those who passed 
near by the residence of the silversmith in Han- 
over square, heard very loud, and, what some of 
the citizens of New York might have termed, sedi- 
tious words, from those within. 

Dorothy was as rank a little rebel as could be 
found in the colony, and even though she did not 
fully appreciate the importance of this Declara- 
tion which was to be made by the people to the 
king, her joy was great when the news came by 
post riders that the Congress had, on the Fourth 
day of July, decided to adopt it. She also knew 
by hearing her father’s friends, all members of 
the organization known as the Sons of Liberty, 
planning a celebration, that at six o’clock on the 
evening of this day which had just dawned, the 


THE DECLARATION 


7 


important document would be read in different 
parts of the city to the soldiers, and that, on the 
common,* the general of all the American 
forces, the gentleman from Virginia, would he 
present. 

It was to be a great day for those who were in 
sympathy with the views entertained by the Sons 
of Liberty, and Dorothy Dean had her mother’s 
promise that she should witness as much of the 
merry-making as might be possible. In addition 
to this, was she not to wear the new finery her 
mother had purchased or made, and which, at the 
very moment when Dorothy opened her eyes on 
this eventful morning, was spread out on the bed 
in the guest chamber, where it had been placed 
for the inspection of Mistress Lamb, she whose 
husband owned the shop on Old Slip, where he 
sold and repaired mathematical instruments ? 

By simply closing her eyes Dorothy could 
bring to view the new costume which was to be 
worn for the first time when she went to see 
General Washington sitting on his horse while 
the Declaration of Independence was being read. 

There was the “frontage” or head-dress of 
plaited muslin in rows, stiffened with wire, and 
rising almost as high in the air as did her mother’s 
head-covering. Then she had a “ steinkirk,” or 
neckcloth of silk, direct from China, which had 

* Now City Hall square. 


8 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


been given her by Master Lepper, host of the 
Duke of Cumberland inn. The bodice was pur- 
ple and gold, and the gown itself was open in 
front to show a black silk petticoat with silver 
trimming. Then came the green silk stockings, 
and embroidered shoes of morocco. Verily she 
would, after being dressed, look fit to dance be- 
fore the king, if it had not so chanced that just 
then the colony, or certain inhabitants of it, 
boasted that they knew no king. 

Sarah Lamb, daughter of Anthony, the maker 
of mathematical instruments, was to bear Dorothy 
company on her sight-seeing, for her mother and 
Mistress Dean were to visit the common together, 
each acting as protector to the other, since their 
husbands were to parade in the ranks of the Sons 
of Liberty. 

And all this rejoicing over what his gracious 
majesty, King George, was pleased to term trea- 
son, was to take place with General Howe and 
his troops only a few miles away, for the royal 
army which evacuated Boston, had been encamped 
on Staten Island since the third day of the month. 
The good people of New York could plainly see 
the ships of war and the transports lying at an- 
chor, and hear with more distinctness than was 
sometimes pleasant, the morning and evening 
guns. In fact, Dorothy had heard her father say 
that spies had been sent into the city from the 


THE DECLARATION 


9 


king’s fleet several times ; but had thus far es- 
caped detection. The Sons of Liberty, however, 
had now organized a certain system of patroling 
the streets, and it was believed that the next who 
ventured into the town would be taken and 
hanged. 

“Will General Washington himself read the 
Declaration, father ? ” Dorothy asked when, her 
modest toilet having been made, she joined her 
parents in that apartment which was at the same 
time a sitting-room and a kitchen. 

“ It is not reasonable to suppose so, my child. 
Most likely one of his officers will attend to the 
reading ; but you are to see the commander-in- 
chief of the American army, and hear those 
words which tell the British king that we will 
have no more of his misrule.” 

“And is his majesty no longer our king?” 
Dorothy asked in mild surprise. 

“We do not recognize him as such, though I 
dare say he and his ministers will make a mighty 
struggle before we shall be allowed by them to 
set up as a free and independent nation. Tell 
me, Dorothy, do you realize all that the 
Declaration means ? This is a momentous time, 
and I would have you understand whatsoever a 
child may of politics, to the end that in years to 
come you can tell the story to those who will 
receive the benefits of what is now being done, 


10 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


without paying such a price in blood as may be 
required of us who are defying the Britishers.” 

With that elaborate costume spread out on 
the snowy counterpane up-stairs, how could 
Dorothy understand anything save that she 
would make a brave show on the streets when 
arrayed in all her finery? Mayhap her father 
understood somewhat of that which was in her 
mind, for he concluded the subject by saying : 

“ When the excitement of the day is over, my 
child, I shall expect you to commit to memory 
the words adopted by those brave men who com- 
pose the Congress, and to such end I have brought 
home that copy of Master Gaines’ Mercury news- 
paper wherein may be found the ringing senti- 
ments which cannot fail of commanding the at- 
tention and respect of all right-thinking men.” 

Then it was that Sarah Lamb made her ap- 
pearance, entering the apartment shyly, as if con- 
fused by having arrived before the family had 
broken fast, and straightway she and Dorothy 
began a whispered conversation regarding the 
plans for the day, or, at least, that portion of it 
during which the new costumes were to be worn. 

The Sons of Liberty were to assemble at the 
inn kept by Captain Benjamin Kierstede on the 
new dock, during the forenoon, when there would 
be much talking of politics, as a matter of course ; 
but this had little of interest to the two girls. 


THE DECLARATION 


11 


It was also understood that the “ Sons ” were to 
march through the principal streets immediately 
before and after the reading of the Declaration, 
and then a huge bonfire was to be built on Bowl- 
ing Green, near by the statue of King George III. 

Mistress Dean had promised that Dorothy 
should be taken to witness this wondrous spec- 
tacle, providing there was not too great a throng 
in the streets, and Sarah Lamb had permission 
to accompany her friend. 

With so much to excite the imagination, it is 
little wonder that the forenoon passed slowly to 
the children, and they partook of the noonday 
meal with unseemly haste, as if by so doing 
it would be possible to hasten the slowly mov- 
ing hands of the clock. 

Early in the afternoon a great noise was heard 
outside, as if from the direction of Dock street, 
and the children ran to the window just as a 
throng of people came into Hanover square at 
full speed, following a man who ran swiftly past 
the house into Wall street. 

“ It must be a spy from General Howe’s army,” 
Mistress Dean said half to herself, as she stood 
watching the eager men who were bent on run- 
ning down the fugitive. 

“ Why has he come here ? ” Dorothy asked. 

“ To learn all he can concerning the defenses 
of the city, to the end that General Howe may 


12 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


know where he can make an attack with the 
greatest chance of success.” 

“ And would he tell the British general any- 
thing about our people who are trying to be free ? ” 
Sarah asked in surprise. 

“Certainly, my dear. If yonder man really 
be a spy, then he has come here to learn all he 
can to advantage the king’s soldiers, and to work 
our undoing.” 

“ He must be very wicked, and I hope he will 
be caught ! ” Dorothy cried decidedly. 

“ The poor man is doing that which he believes 
to be right, and if he is captured, our people will 
surely hang him, for such is the punishment 
dealt out to spies.” 

“Then I wish he might be almost caught,” 
Dorothy replied after reflection. “ Then, per- 
haps, he would be so frightened that he’d never 
do such a thing again.” 

The noise of the chase died away in the dis- 
tance, and no one came that way who could give 
information as to whether the fugitive had been 
captured. 

It was to Dorothy and Sarah as if no less than 
three full days elapsed before Mistress Dean 
decided that it was time to make ready for the 
evening, and Sarah went home with an invitation 
for her mother to call at Hanover square when 


THE DECLARATION 13 

she was prepared to set out toward the common 
to witness the ceremonies. 

At five o’clock the two ladies and the children 
emerged from the house on their sight-seeing tour, 
with the understanding that Masters Dean and 
Lamb would join them at Bowling Green, after 
the Sons of Liberty had kindled the bonfire. 

Once on the streets, which were thronged with 
citizens in holiday garb, the two girls decided 
that it was indeed a fine thing for the Congress 
to make a declaration of independence if it re- 
sulted in such a spectacle as had been promised, 
and never once did they realize that those brave 
men who signed it had, with due knowledge of 
all the dangers which threatened, “ mutually 
pledged to each other, their lives, their fortunes, 
and their sacred honor.” 

Up Wall street to Broad Way the little party 
went, meeting many friends and acquaintances, 
and from some of these the two ladies learned 
that it was indeed a British spy who had been 
chased from Old Slip through Hanover square. 
The man had escaped capture for the time being, 
so it was said ; but a strong guard had been set 
around the docks, and it was believed he must 
surely be taken before morning. 

Arrived on the Broad Way, a halt was made 
to view a parade of sailors led by Captain Bevan, 
who had made himself famous by having com- 


14 : 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


mand of the privateering brig Clinton when she 
captured the French ship La Pomme. 

It was difficult for the children to realize that 
there were so many seamen hailing from the port 
of New York, all of whom, if the inscriptions on 
their banners could be credited, were not only 
willing, but eager, to do their full share toward 
proving that the United Colonies were “ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the British crown.” 

It was a brave show which these sailors made, 
many of whom had fought for the king against 
France, and even Dorothy and Sarah began to 
understand, although dimly, that there was very 
much more to this declaration of independence 
than parades and a bonfire on Bowling Green. 

Shortly after the sailors passed, the Sons of 
Liberty marched up the street in the direction 
of the common, and the two girls were literally 
wild with excitement as they recognized their 
fathers in the line, for this seemed to be conclu- 
sive proof that they had certain rights and privi- 
leges in the celebration which could not be 
enjoyed by those less favored children whose 
parents took no active part in the proceedings. 

One of the banners carried by the “ Sons ” 
attracted considerable attention, and provoked 
loud huzzas all along the line. On it the girls 
read, without being able fully to understand the 
meaning : 


THE DECLARATION 


15 


“ A Tory * is a thing whose head is in England, 
its body in America, and whose neck ought to be 
stretched.” 

“Resistance to Tyrants,” “All men are 
created equal,” “ George III. is unfit to be the 
ruler of a free people,” were among the inscrip- 
tions painted on the streamers or banners car- 
ried by the marching men, and although there 
were many of the spectators who frowned at the 
sentiments displayed, never one dared to open 
his mouth in protest, lest he be roughly handled 
by those who claimed to be Whigs, t 

Then came a procession of men and women 
from the markets, nearly all of whom carried 
some symbol or banner to show their sympathy 
with the spirit of revolution, and when this had 
passed the head of Wall street, Mistress Dean 
and Mistress Lamb led the children toward the 
common, for the hour was drawing near when 
the troops would be formed in a hollow square 
to hear read the Declaration issued by the Con- 
gress. Already could be heard the screaming of 

* The name “Tory” in England, was given to a 
member of that political party which supported the 
public measures of the king and opposed the found- 
ing of a free country in North America. 

f The term “ Whigs” was applied to the members of 
the patriotic or revolutionary party during the war for 
independence. It was also the name given to those in 
England who opposed the Tory, or court party. 


16 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


fifes and the rattle of drums telling that the 
soldiers were in motion, and the two girls urged 
their mothers forward lest they miss seeing any 
portion of the spectacle. 

When they arrived at the common it was 
found that an exceeding large throng had as- 
sembled ; only with difficulty could the ladies 
force a passage amid the many groups of men 
and boys which had halted on that side of Broad 
Way adjoining the parade ground, where were 
erected booths for the sale of such beverages and 
food as might find favor with the sight-seers. 

Dorothy and Sarah would not have objected to 
remaining where the boys were indulging in 
rough sports of various kinds ; but their mothers 
evidently believed it necessary to take positions 
among the ladies and gentlemen of the city, or, 
at least, with those who were in favor of the revo- 
lutionary movement, for there were very many 
people in New York on that day who believed 
that those who signed the Declaration had com- 
mitted the grievous crime of treason. 

Those who had marched in procession through 
the streets were massed at one end of the parade 
ground, the greater number remaining in line that 
there might be no delay in setting out for Bowl- 
ing Green immediately the ceremonies were con- 
cluded ; but here and there men came from the 
ranks to speak with friends or relatives among 


THE DECLARATION 


17 


spectators, and one of these was Master Dean, 
who lifted Dorothy in his arms regardless of the 
possibility that her finery might be disarranged, 
as he asked : 

“ Are you seeing all the sights, my dear ? ” 

“Yes, sir, and even more than the marching 
men, for one who is accused of being a British 
spy ran through the square this afternoon, pur- 
sued by many people.” 

“ I heard that an officer from Howe’s army had 
been seen in the city, and that, because of the 
watch which has been set, it is well-nigh impos- 
sible for him to escape.” 

“ But this could not have been a British of- 
ficer, sir, for he was dressed much like a laborer.” 

“ Ay, that was the disguise it is said he as- 
sumed ; but he so far forgot himself as to linger 
near Master Fraunce’s tavern, and was recognized 
by Colonel Willett, who had seen him in Boston.” 

“ If he should be caught, will they hang him ? ” 
Dorothy asked, her voice tremulous with the 
thought of such a cruel, shameful death. 

“Ay, my child. In time of war those who 
enter an enemy’s lines in disguise, can expect no 
other fate.” 

“ But it is wicked to kill a man when he has 
done no harm,” and now the tears stood in 
Dorothy’s eyes. 

“ Such a man may do more injury to us than 
2 


18 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


an hundred who stand up with muskets to shoot 
us down. You may be very certain, Dorothy 
dear, that the king will not be soft-hearted if he 
gets any of us in his clutches. War is cruel 
work, at the best ; but we who uphold this revo- 
lution know that much good will come to those 
who live after us, and must stand face to face 
with death in order that these colonies may be 
free.” 

There was no time for further conversation re- 
garding spies, for just then the beating of drums 
summoned such of the soldiers as were encamped 
on the common to form into line, and far down 
the street could be heard the shrill notes of fifes, 
betokening the arrival of troops from other parts 
of the city. 

While Dorothy and Sarah were looking about 
them eager for the coming of the soldiers, a great 
shout went up from the spectators at the further 
end of the field, and Mistress Lamb said nervously 
to the girls : 

“Here comes General Washington and his 
officers, children. Behave yourselves properly, 
for he may look this way ! ” 

The gentleman from Virginia was not exactly 
the kind of a soldier the girls had expected to see. 
No fault could be found with his uniform, the 
horse or trappings ; but the man himself had a 
face betokening kindness and gentleness, which 


THE DECLARATION 


19 


was the opposite of what Dorothy and Sarah sup- 
posed necessary for a general who was fighting 
against the king, with the very good assurance 
that he would be hanged without very much 
ceremony, if captured. 

“ All those who are confined in jail for debt are 
to be released this evening,” a gentleman who 
was standing near-by said to his companion, and 
Sarah asked why that was to be done. 

“ In order that the unfortunate creatures may 
have good reason for remembering the day when 
the colonists declared themselves free,” Mistress 
Dean explained, and then the soldiers whose 
camps were near at hand marched forward as 
those from the Broad Way came on the parade 
ground. 

With wondrous exactness the square was 
formed around the group of officers on horseback, 
and one of the general’s aids began to read in a 
clear, ringing voice that declaration which was to 
arouse the world. 

“ When, in the course of human events, it be- 
comes necessary for one people to dissolve the 
political bands which have connected them with 
another ” 

Dorothy and Sarah could hear distinctly the 
words ; hut, pay ever so close attention as they 
might, it was impossible for them to understand 
the meaning, except as it had already been ex- 


20 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


plained, that the colonists had declared them- 
selves to be free, which was one very weighty 
reason why General Howe’s army of royal troops 
were encamped on Staten Island menacing the 
city. 

To the children there was nothing particularly 
thrilling in the reading ; but they could better 
understand that it might be of great import, 
when the soldiers marched and countermarched 
before the general after the officer had completed 
his task. The women waved their handkerchiefs ; 
the men cried “ huzza ” until they were hoarse, 
and the boys screamed and capered in order to 
contribute their share to the general excitement. 

The soldiers were dismissed from parade ; the 
officers rode slowly away in the direction of the 
commander’s quarters at Bowling Green. The 
drummers and lifers hired by those who made up 
the procession, began to play, and- the Sons of 
Liberty led the way toward where the bonfire was 
to be seen. 

In the rear of the procession came the specta- 
tors, and never before had Dorothy and Sarah 
seen the street so thronged with people. It was 
difficult to walk quietly and as beseemed young 
ladies, so great was the press, and so mischievous 
were the boys, who ran here and there shouting 
loudly as if for no other purpose than to bewilder 
and irritate the staid and respectable sightseers. 


THE DECLARATION 


21 


The girls would have pressed forward, regard- 
less of the discomfort of being jostled and pushed 
by the yet more eager ones, for they feared that 
much of the merry-making might have come to 
an end by the time they arrived, so slowly did 
their mothers walk ; but to this the ladies made 
decided objections, and the children, greatly 
against their will, were forced to move at what 
seemed like a snail’s pace in order that all the 
proprieties might be observed. 

“ It is not yet dark,” Mistress Dean said sooth- 
ingly when she saw the look of disappointment on 
Dorothy’s face. “You may make certain that 
nothing will be done in regard to the bonfire 
until night has fully come.” Then to Mistress 
Lamb she added, “ Perhaps it would have been 
better had we gone directly home from the com- 
mon ; I am afraid the children may get hurt in 
the crush. What an enormous city New York 
is, to be sure.” 

“We might omit this portion of the sight-see- 
ing,” Mistress Lamb replied. “For my part I 
am not eager to see a bonfire, and Sarah’s frock 
will be ruined if we get into another crowd.” 

“ But we can’t go home now,” and there was a 
tone of deepest regret in Mistress Dean’s voice. 
« The gentlemen are to meet us at Bowling 
Green after the festivities are over, and if we 
were not there they might spend half the night 


22 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


searching over the city. We must go on ; but I 
should feel much easier in mind if the girls were 
safely at home ; there are many rough people 
abroad.” 

“All of which is fortunate for us,” Dorothy 
whispered to Sarah. “ It may be wrong to feel 
glad when mother is sad ; but I have so counted 
on seeing the bonfire ! ” 


CHAPTER II 


KING GEOKGE’s STATUE 

The ladies and the children had not yet ar- 
rived at the Lutheran church when a great out- 
cry was suddenly heard in the direction of 
Bowling Green, and Mistress Dean came to a 
full stop as she said in a tone of fear : 

“ I really do not dare go any further. I am 
certain that something terrible is being done 
there, and if we go on it may be to find ourselves 
so hemmed in by the throng that it will be im- 
possible to get away until after the orgy is at an 
end.” 

“ If you call the pullin’ down of King George’s 
statue a orgy, then I allow you must be the 
wife of a Tory,” a fish woman, who heard the re- 
mark as she was passing hurriedly, stopped to 
say sharply. 

“ I am not the wife of a Tory ! ” Mistress Dean 
replied emphatically, “ and as to that, those who 
know Jacob Dean, the silversmith, can testify.” 

“ If you’re of his family it will do you good to 
see what is goin’ on,” the woman said with a 
laugh as she disappeared at a quick pace, leaving 
23 


24 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Dorothy’s mother covered with confusion because 
she had so far forgotten herself as to make ex- 
planations thus publicly. 

“We must see that part of the celebration ! ” 
and Mistress Lamb appeared quite as eager as the 
wildest lad in the throng. She pressed forward 
without regard to the injury that might be done 
Sarah’s garments, and the latter, clutching her 
friend by the hand, pulled Dorothy after her. 

How it was accomplished neither the ladies 
nor the children could have told ; but certain it 
is that within ten minutes after the cause of the 
sudden commotion had been explained, the two 
girls and their mothers were where it was pos- 
sible to see all that was being done. 

The leaden statue of the king stood on the 
Green as the children had seen it many, many 
times before ; but now there were long ropes at- 
tached to the head, and men, soldiers and boys 
were making ready for a trial of strength. 

“ They are really going to pull it down ! ” Mis- 
tress Dean said in a whisper, as if to her mind 
the act of renouncing allegiance to England was 
as nothing compared with the disrespect which, 
was thus being shown the effigy of a king. 

“ It almost frightens me,” Dorothy whispered 
to Sarah, and the latter, clasping her friend’s 
hand yet more firmly, replied : 

“ It is terrible ! Only think of what my lord 



me -THRONc- -TUGoeo at- me • nores 
181 W].Ttt-MANYA-3HOVT-ANTa-ttVZZA 









































KING GEORGE'S STATUE 25 

Howe will do to us when he hears of this night’s 
work.” 

“ Surely we are not to blame if the people pull 
down the king’s statue,” Dorothy said with a sob. 

“ But our fathers are, and I would rather be 
hurt myself, than have mine come to any harm.” 

The possibility that the king might punish the 
people for thus declaring themselves free and 
independent, had occurred to Dorothy only as 
something so remote that she could have no part 
in it ; but now that Sarah had spoken she began 
to feel more than a little frightened because she 
had been so bold, and, like her mother, heartily 
wished that she was at home out of the treason- 
able turmoil, even though her father had said it 
was noble to act in such a manner. 

There were big tears in her eyes when she saw 
the statue sway to and fro as the throng tugged 
at the ropes with many a shout and huzza, while 
from every portion of the Green could be heard 
cries of approval, as if those who had no hold on 
the rope would thus show that they were fully in 
accord with what was being done. 

Dorothy literally trembled when she recognized 
her father’s voice high above the din, as he 
shouted : 

“ How at it all together ! One more pull and 
his majesty will come down from his high estate 
in Hew York ! ” 


26 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Again the statue swayed to and fro, and even 
as Dorothy was hoping that something would 
happen to prevent the people from doing so rash 
a thing, the leaden likeness of George III. toppled 
from its pedestal, tumbling head foremost on the 
ground amid a cloud of dust, accompanied by the 
frantic screaming of those who wished to show 
themselves foremost in the dangerous task of 
making the colonies free from the oppressive 
yoke of England’s rule. 

Surely Mistress Dean was not far wrong when 
she spoke of that which was to be done at Bowl- 
ing Green as “ an orgy,” for during ten minutes 
or more after the statue had fallen it was as if 
the male members of the gathering had gone 
wild, the greater number with joy, and not a few 
with rage because such an indignity should have 
been offered to the king. 

Then arose the cry of “ Tory ! Tory ! ” and in 
a twinkling those who were nearest a gentleman 
who had spoken very decidedly against what he 
was pleased to call “ lawless proceedings,” rushed 
forward with intent to do him bodily harm. 

At the moment he was attacked, this friend of 
the king’s stood not more than a dozen paces 
from the two girls, and, as can well be imagined, 
both they and their mothers were speedily in the 
midst of a shouting, yelling mob, every member 
of which panted with the desire to punish the 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE 


27 


man who had dared condemn what was being 
done while they were celebrating the adoption of 
the Declaration. 

Mistress Dean screamed wildly for help ; but 
it is a question if any save Mistress Lamb heard 
the appeal, so great was the uproar in the im- 
mediate vicinity. Then the good woman tried to 
lead her daughter out from the throng ; but she 
might as well have attempted to stem the ocean 
tide with a feather. 

Every man and boy near at hand was pressing 
from all points toward a common center, and the 
two ladies, with their children, were hemmed in 
until it was literally impossible to move. 

The Tory was armed only with a light walking 
cane ; but he made every effort to use it as an 
effective weapon, and, in fact, did succeed in 
striking several blows which must have been 
painful to those who received them. It was not 
possible, however, for him to defend himself suc- 
cessfully when the press was so great that he 
could not move his arms to advantage, and to 
Dorothy and Sarah it seemed as if the struggle 
had hardly more than begun before the gentle- 
man was lifted astride a piece of joist which had 
previously been brought to the Green for the 
work of overturning the statue. 

In this shameful position he was carried on the 
shoulders of four men, his legs held firmly by 


28 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


half a dozen boys to prevent him from slipping 
off, around the Green, amid the hoots and derisive 
cries of a majority of the spectators, who believed 
that a “ Tory ride ” was a most seemly portion 
of the celebration. 

“ If we hadn’t been so foolish as to promise the 
gentlemen we would meet them here after the 
bonfire ! ” good Mistress Dean cried in distress. 
“ It wouldn’t seem quite so bad if the children 
were at home ! ” 

“ I’se mighty glad for to run ’cross ye, Missus,” 
a voice from out the surrounding throng said in 
tones of deepest thankfulness, and Dorothy abso- 
lutely shouted with joy as old Scip, the Negro 
servant employed by her father at the shop, forced 
his way to her side. 

Scipio Africanus was his full name ; but it is a 
question if either he or Dorothy was aware of the 
fact, for to her, and himself, for that matter, he 
was simply “Scip,” while the boys knew him 
only as “Jacob Dean’s nigger Scip.” 

Mistress Dean was no less pleased by the 
arrival of the old man than was her daughter, 
for she suddenly saw her way out of at least a 
portion of her difficulties. 

“ Have you seen your master since he came on 
the Green?” 

“ Nebber once, Missus ; he done gone got hissef 
mixed up wid dem Sons, an’ is habin’ his han’s 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE 


29 


full, I reckon, what wid Tory rides, pullin’ down 
de statures, an’ dat bonfire what’s gwine ter roar 
way up to de sky when she’s touched off.” 

“ Go find him at once, Scip, and say I wish he 
would come here without delay. We need him 
sorely.” 

Scipio bowed gravely, then tugged at the wool 
just over his forehead in a sailorly fashion, and 
was lost to view in the crowd before Dorothy had 
an opportunity of speaking the words which were 
trembling on her lips. 

“We could hardly get away if we started at 
once,” Mistress Lamb said apprehensively, as she 
gazed at the new accessions to the ranks of the 
spectators which hemmed in the ladies even more 
completely than before. 

“Are you going home, mother?” Dorothy 
asked. 

“Yes, my child, as soon as your father comes. 
This is no place for us, and I should have known 
that there would be little less than a mob 
here.” 

“ Don’t speak so loudly,” Mistress Lamb cau- 
tioned. “We may be again mistaken for Tories, 
and then our troubles would be great indeed, for 
these people are too highly excited to listen to 
reason.” 

“ Do you want to go home, Sarah ? ” Dorothy 
asked in a low tone. 


30 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


“ Indeed I do. The lace is torn from my petti- 
coat front, and my gown is soiled.” 

“ Some one stepped on the toe of my beautiful 
shoe, and scraped the gloss off,” Dorothy added, 
as if believing that a list of her own mishaps 
would suffice to cheer the disconsolate Sarah. 
“ My frontage is crushed, and I would have lost 
the steinkirk if I hadn’t taken it off when we 
first arrived here.” 

While the children were comparing notes rel- 
ative to the disarrangement of their costumes, 
and the ladies were dismally speculating as to 
what might be the result of trying to force a 
passage through the throng, Scip returned, 
breathless and heated. 

“I done been every whar, an’ de Massa ain’t 
dere. I ’spects he am so took up wid de fire dat 
he’s jes’ like a weasel in de stone wall. Carn’t 
ole Scip do what you’se wants ? ” 

“ I am eager to get home ; but don’t dare to 
leave here without acquainting Master Dean of 
my purpose,” the good woman replied in per- 
plexity, and at that moment Mistress Lamb whis- 
pered in her ear : 

“ Surely it would be safe to send the children 
home with Scip. With them out of the way we 
shan’t have so much to fret us, and can wait 
with some degree of patience, if it so be we must.” 

To the anxious woman this proposition seemed 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE 


31 


a good one. She believed it her duty to remain 
at the rendezvous appointed by her husband. 
If the girls could be taken home they would at 
least be in safety, and, in event of another dis- 
turbance similar to the attack upon the Tory, 
there would be real danger that the children 
might be seriously crushed. 

“Do you believe, Scip, that you would have 
any trouble in going from here to Hanover 
square ? ” she asked, having been taught by her 
husband that the old Negro might be trusted in 
any ordinary emergency. 

“ De way am clear, Missus, kase all de folks 
in de city am packed up here. Dere wouldn’t 
be no fuss ’bout gettin’ home; but yer carn’t 
want’er go till de fire hab been touched off ? ” 

“ I wish to send the children home ; they are 
in real danger here, for if we have more trouble 
like the last, it will be all Mistress Lamb and I 
can do to take care of ourselves. You are to go 
with them to Hanover square, and remain quietly 
in the house until I come.” 

The old darkey looked thoroughly disappointed 
at thus being deprived of the pleasure which 
would come with the kindling of the bonfire; 
but he was too good a servant to question the 
command, and, taking the girls by the hands, he 
would have started off without delay, but that 
Dorothy stopped him. 


32 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


“You must get the key of the house from 
mother, Scip, else we can’t get in.” 

“ I ’clar to goodness, little Missy ; but de ole 
man clean forgot ’bout dat part ob it, an’ I spects 
yer mammy did too.” 

“Do not loiter on the way,” Mistress Dean 
said as she unfastened from the chain around her 
waist, the key of the house door. 

“ I’se gwine ter tote dem chillun right quick, 
an’ dere won’t be no foolin’ ’roun’, dat yer can 
’pend on, Missus.” 

Then Scipio led the girls through the throng 
with no slight difficulty, for every person was 
eager to press forward, and resented any attempt 
which would seem to cause a loss of vantage 
ground. 

It was with a long-drawn sigh of relief that 
Dorothy finally gained the open street in the 
rear of the sight-seers, and old Scip appeared 
surprised because she gave evidence of pleasure. 

“ I ’lowed dat yer’d be clean down to de heel 
on ’count ob habin’ to come away ’fore de fire 
started, an’ yet you’se chipper as er jay- bird, 
little Missy.” 

“It was dreadful to be jammed among all 
those people ; I felt as if I was stifling, and be- 
sides, if we’d stayed much longer, being pulled 
and hauled as we were when the Tory took his 
ride, our new gowns would have been ruined.” 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE 


33 


“ Mine looks as if it had been worn every day 
for a month,” Sarah said mournfully. “ Mother 
thought it would serve until next winter for best. 
While General Washington and his soldiers stay 
here the city will be very gay, and I must have 
fine clothes, unless I’m to be shamed every time 
I go out of doors.” 

“ I heard some ob de ossifers talkin’ ’bout dis 
yere Britisher, Gineral Howe, cornin’ up from de 
island wid his red- coats, an’ when dat happens 
I ’lows our soldiers am boun’ for to git away 
mighty quick,” Scipio said gravely, as he led the 
way through the deserted streets at a rapid pace. 

“My lord Howe’s men can’t come into the 
city while our soldiers are here, for General 
Washington will stop them,” Dorothy replied 
very decidedly, but the old darkey shook his head 
despondently. 

“ Massa Dean sent me up to Fraunce’s tabern 
dis yere ma wilin’, an’ while I was waitin’ for de 
ossifer to make up his mind which ob de silber 
cups he wanted, I heared ’em talkin’ ’bout how 
dere wasn’t soldiers enuf in town to stop dem 
Britishers ef dey took it inter dere heads to come.” 

“Then you heard that which wasn’t true, 
Scip, for I am certain my father would have 
known it, and he wasn’t afraid the British troops 
could take the city,” Dorothy said sharply, and 
Sarah added : 

3 


34 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


“ Of course they can’t come now that the Dec- 
laration has been made. My father says the king 
no longer rules over us, and since that is so, he 
has no right to send his soldiers here.” 

“ I ’spects you’se kerrect, little Missy. I’se only 
a wuffless ole nigger what wouldn’t fetch ten 
shillin’s at auction, an’ I ain’t got sense enuf ter 
know wha’ de quality kin do ; but I’se pow’ful 
sorry kase we done missed dat ’ere fire ! ” 

“ It will be much more pleasant at home, than 
among such a throng of people,” Dorothy replied 
in a tone of content, “ and who knows but that 
we can see the flames from the windows ? Surely 
we should be able to do so if the bonfire is as large 
as was promised.” 

The idea appeared to have a soothing effect upon 
Scipio, whose black face was wreathed in smiles 
as he hurried his young charges on, trying from 
time to time to quicken the pace by reminding 
them that unless they arrived within a very short 
while the fire might have burned itself out. 

The shadows of night were already lengthen- 
ing when the little party arrived at the head of 
Wall street, and there was no further need to 
hasten the movements of the children, for both 
were eager to gain the shelter of the Hanover 
square home before it was fully dark. 

When, finally, they stood on the stoop of the 
wooden house with its gable of yellow bricks, 


KING GEORGE’S STATUE 


35 


showing that it had been built by one of the 
Dutch settlers, there was no glow in the sky to 
betoken that the fire had been kindled, and Scipio 
was in good humor, believing he would be able 
to see, even though from a distance, that rare 
spectacle which the Sons of Liberty had promised 
should be presented on this day of festivity. 

Three or four minutes elapsed before the old 
darkey could move the ponderous key in the 
huge lock, and when the heavy front door was 
swung open the dark interior of the house caused 
the girls to shrink back, as if fearing that some- 
thing frightful might come from out the gloom, 
despite the fact that the dwelling had been free 
from any save household objects when they left 
it a few hours previous. 

“ Do you go ahead to the living room,” Dorothy 
said, clutching Scipio by the skirts of his coat 
with one hand, and holding Sarah’s dimpled 
fingers in the other. “ Make no delay, Scip ; but 
light the candles as soon as you may, for I do not 
like this blackness.” 

“ I’se mos’ ginerally got my eye out for spooks, 
an’ sich like truck, honey ; but it’s too early for 
dem to be prowlin’ ’roun’, an’ we’se snug here as 
bugs in a rug ; but I ain’t say in’ dat I’d like to 
poke my brack nose inter de dark ’long ’bout 
midnight, kase den dere’s likely ter be trub- 
ble.” 


36 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“Don’t speak of it, Scip,” Sarah pleaded. 
“ Light the candles, and then close the shutters.” 

It was not a simple task for Scip to do as he 
had been commanded ; first he groped his way 
around to find the candles, which he knew must 
be on the tall mantel over the huge fireplace, and 
then a skilful manipulation of flints was neces- 
sary that a spark might fall upon a bit of cotton, 
which had been dipped in sulphur, thereby pro- 
ducing a flame. 

After laboring until the perspiration ran in 
tiny streams down his black face, for it was very 
warm in the house with every window tightly 
closed, Scipio succeeded in obeying the commands 
of the girls, who, now that they were in safety, 
began to examine their garments which had re- 
ceived some rough usage, and finding more cause 
for tears than smiles as they viewed the many 
rents and stains. 

While this was being done the old darkej r stood 
first on one foot and then the other, as if impa- 
tient almost beyond control, and not until he had 
spent considerable time in such aimless occupa- 
tion did Dorothy appear to realize that he was 
not particularly happy. 

“ What is the matter, Scip ? Aren’t you con- 
tent now that we are safely housed ? ” 

“ Dat’s des de trubble, honey. I’se housed too 
much, kase I carn’t get de littlest mite ob a 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE S7 

squint out doors wid all de shutters closed up 
tight.” 

“I thought you intended to look out of the 
window ? ” 

“ It carn’t be did down here, honey.” 

“ Then go up-stairs.” 

“Dat’s des what I’se hankerin , after mighty 
bad ; but it won’t do for er ole nigger like me to 
be prowlin’ ’roun’ de house erlone,’ less you’se 
willin’.” 

“ I am quite certain mother would give you 
permission to go into the upper chamber; but 
she wouldn’t allow you to take a candle, because 
of the chance that the house might be set afire.” 

“ I ain’t carin’ for de candle, honey. Ef you’se 
warnts ole Scip, des yell, an’ he’ll be down here 
in er shake.” 

As he spoke Scipio began the ascent of the 
stairs rapidly, and Sarah, suddenly realizing that 
she and Dorothy might witness that which 
would interest them, called after him : 

“If you can see the bonfire, come back and 
tell us.” 

“Trus’ ole Scip not ter let you’se miss any- 
thing dat’s goin’ on,” he cried from the upper 
floor, and the girls could hear his heavy foot- 
steps as he went from one apartment to another 
to ascertain where the best view might be had. 

On this evening the girls were particularly 


38 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


timid, and there were many of their elders in 
New York at that hour who were not one whit 
• braver. Those who understood the situation, 
knew that the adoption of the Declaration would 
excite the king’s officers to renewed exertions in 
their task of putting down the rebellion, there- 
fore it was possible that the clash of arms might 
resound on the streets at any moment. 

The children, however, were not disturbed 
by such forebodings. They were only aware 
that there had been much to alarm them since 
the day began, and now, after escaping from a 
crush of people that had seemed almost men- 
acing, so great had it been, all the stories of su- 
pernatural happenings which they had heard from 
the Negro servants came vividly to mind. 

For the first time were they alone in the old 
house where were many corners and angles 
which looked suspicious in the darkness, if one’s 
mind was in the proper frame to manufacture 
terrors, and Scipio was a long distance away. 

The examination of the rumpled costumes 
ended, the girls sat at one side of the fireplace, 
perhaps because that was the most frequented 
portion of the room, silent and motionless, listen- 
ing intently for the lightest unusual noise, and 
then Sarah said with difficulty, as if her tongue 
was parched by fear : 

“ Don’t you think, Dorothy, that it would be 


KING GEORGE'S STATUE 


39 


better if Scip stayed down here with us ? Your 
mother might not like to have him rummaging 
around the chambers.” 

“I don’t believe she would care very much, 
for he is careful, and father says he wouldn’t 
steal the value of a pin; but perhaps it might 
be better if we had him under our eyes.” 

Then Dorothy went to the stairway and called 
in a thin, piping voice : 

“ Scip ! Oh Scipio ! ” 

“ Here I is, honey ! ” 

“ Will you — Don’t you suppose — Can you see 
the fire ? ” 

“No, Missy, I reckon dey ain’t touched her off 
yet, or else it carn’t be a berry big one, kase I 
don’t see hide nor hair ob it, an’ I’se been lookin’ 
eberywhar.” 

“Wouldn’t it be more pleasant to sit down 
here with Sarah and me ? ” 

“ I’se cornin’, chile, but I ’low dat dis ole nig- 
ger ain’t de kin’ ob company you’se ’customed to 
keepin’.” 

The tramp of footsteps above, as the old darkey 
obeyed the summons, was most reassuring to the 
children, and by the time Scipio came into the 
living room again the girls were looking almost 
cheerful. 

It would have been better, however, if the serv- 
ant had remained searching with his eyes for 


40 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


some evidence of the bonfire, because no sooner 
was he with the children than he seemed to 
think it his bounden duty to amuse them, and 
this he endeavored to do by telling stories of the 
most blood-curdling kind. 

He had been captured in Africa by the men- 
stealers when he was full grown, and remem- 
bered distinctly all the tales of the supernatural, 
or the myths of his people, therefore the fund 
from which he drew was well-nigh inexhaustible. 

First he described the horrors of the slave 
ship, which led up to the alleged appearance of 
a ghost on board, the visitor being, as he declared, 
the spirit of a companion who had died during 
the passage. From that cheerful topic he wan- 
dered off to the Negro plot to burn New York, 
with which the girls were quite familiar, and 
described with great detail the sufferings of those 
burned at the stake, and the contortions of the 
culprits who were hanged. 

In fact, his method of amusing the children 
was well calculated to make both of them even 
more nervous and timid than before, and they 
trembled when the candles flared, or Scip moved 
his feet across the sanded floor suddenly. 

Therefore it was that when, suddenly, the 
sound of many voices raised in anger was heard 
from the outside, Dorothy and Sarah leaped to 
their feet with a cry of fear. 


CHAPTER III 


THE SPY 

It was a positive relief to the girls when the 
tumult outside increased until individual cries 
could be distinguished. Scipio’s stories of the 
horrible had plunged them into that frame of 
mind where they almost expected to see or hear 
something unearthly, and when the uproar first 
broke the stillness of that part of the city, it was 
as if the African ghosts had suddenly arrived. 

“What is it?” Dorothy asked in tremulous 
tones, as the three stood in the middle of the 
room listening intently, but making no move to- 
ward going into that part of the house where it 
might be possible to see what was being done 
outside. 

“ I ’spects it’s annuder spy, honey, else dey’ve 
done picked up a Tory what’s been makin’ brash 
talk,” Scipio replied sagely. 

“It sounds as if a great crowd was coming 
into the square.” 

“ So it does, chile. I reckon dis yere place am 
beginnin’ to be a mighty brisk part ob de city.” 

“ Kill him ! Kill him ! ” shouted a voice so 
41 


42 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


near at hand that the girls clung to each other in 
terror. 

“ Are they trying to get into the house ? ” 
Dorothy asked in a whisper. 

“ I don’ reckon so, honey, kase dere’s nobody 
here dat dey’d want’er kill. Massa Dean am one 
ob de big men ’roun’ yere, an’ a high-up Son ob 
Liberty, so it carn’t be his blood dey’s hankerin’ 
fur.” 

“ There he goes ! There he goes ! He’s run to 
earth, an’ if no mistake be made he’ll soon find 
himself where he can’t spy on honest people ! ” 

This second outburst of words seemed to come 
directly from beneath the front windows of the 
house, and both girls clutched the skirts of 
Scipio’s coat, as Sarah asked in alarm : 

“ Are they coming in here ? ” 

“ Bress yer soul, honey, dey couldn’t so much 
as git dere noses in, kase dis yere am a mighty 
strong house, an’ den agin, dey don’ want’er 
come. Dere ain’t any spy ’roun’ dis place.” 

“ Look out for him ! He went over that way ! ” 

Then came the sound of hurrying footsteps, 
and the listeners knew by the noise that the pur- 
suers were running across the square. 

At this point it suddenly occurred to Scipio 
that by going into the front room it would be pos- 
sible to see through the window all that was being 
done, and he darted swiftly forward, almost pull- 


THE SPY 43 

ing the girls from their feet as they held fast to 
his coat. 

“ Don’t go so near ! ” Dorothy cried when the 
old darkey’s headway was checked momentarily 
as he came in contact with a chair. 

“ Why not, honey ? I’se only gwine ter open 
de shutter de littlest bit ob a ways.” 

“ If you so much as unfasten it some one can get 
in ! Please don’t do it, Scip, please don’t ! ” 
“Now see here, chile, it stands to de reasonable- 
ness ob tings dat I’se specially forced fur ter 
look out, kase yer father’s gwine ter arsk me 
wha’s been goin’ on, an’ how can I tell him ef I 
don’ stick de end ob my nose out ? ” 

“You mustn’t do it!” Sarah screamed in an 
agony of fear. “Wait till Master Dean comes, 
and then you may do as you please.” 

“ But honey, does you ’spect dem men am gwine 
ter wait so long? By de time Massa an’ Missus 
come dis yere square will be des like er grabe- 
yard, kase eberybody will be gone out’er it. Ef 
I don’ get an inklin’ now, it’ll be too late.” 

“ It is of no use to talk, Scip,” Dorothy said, 
striving to imitate her mother’s tone and manner 
when any certain matter had been definitely 
decided. “ We cannot have the shutters opened ! ” 
The old man was burning with curiosity to 
know what was being done outside, for the pur- 
suers were yet within the square, but at such a 


44 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


distance that no words could be distinguished 
amid the uproar, and he had no idea of being thus 
held in check by two small girls. 

“Now look here, you chilluns,” he said per- 
suasively, “ I’se got ter do sumfin’ else I’se boun’ 
to ketch it hot when Massa comes home. He’s 
gwine to ’low dat I ouglit’er tell him all ’bout it, 
an’ I’se ’bleeged fur ter snoop’ roun ’a littly bit. 
Ef yer don’ wan’ dis yere shutter opened, I’se 
gwine ter slide out’er de door. I kin lock it behin’ 
me, an’ you’ll be jes’ as safe as de chicken in de 
shell. Go back inter de odder room, homes, an’ 
’fore you’se know dat de ole man hab gone, he’ll 
be here wid all de news.” 

Dorothy tried to be stern, as her mother would 
have been with a servant under similar circum- 
stances ; but the tears were so near her eyelids that 
the effort was unsuccessful. Before it was possi- 
ble for her to speak without crying, Scipio had 
led Sarah and her back to the living room, and 
disappeared suddenly in the gloom of the long 
front hall. 

As if believing that some great and imminent 
danger threatened, the girls clasped each other by 
the neck, as they sobbed feverishly, and retreated, 
without being really conscious of what they did, 
into the fireplace, heeding not the fact that by so 
doing they were trampling upon the evergreens 
with which Mistress Dean adorned the yawning, 


THE SPY 45 

vault-like receptacle for fuel to hide from view 
the unsightly bricks. 

Standing here, frantically embracing each other, 
the new costumes received yet further injury 
from the soot which was exposed to the touch 
once the green screen had been trampled down, 
and even the children’s faces and hands were soon 
stained black in spots and streaks, which would 
have caused them great merriment but for the 
terror which had taken possession of both. 

Here the trembling girls heard Scipio as, with 
difficulty, he forced back the bolt of the lock with 
the ponderous key; then came the creaking of 
the door when it was opened, and the tears began 
to flow down Dorothy’s soot-begrimed face as she 
understood that now they were alone in the big 
house so full of terrifying shadows and possi- 
bilities for fear. 

“ He has gone out ! ” Sarah whispered amid 
her sobs, and Dorothy replied in a choking voice : 

“We’re all alone now, and if God don’t take 
care of us we shall have a terrible time of it ! ” 

“ If your mother was here ! ” Sarah wailed 
softly. “ Of course God looks after children ; but 
we can’t see Him, and we Gould any human folks 
who were with us ! ” 

Then came a time of silence, during which the 
girls listened in fear and trembling ; but without 
being able to distinguish any very fearful noises. 


46 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


Once the mice scampering in the walls caused 
them to shrink back against the fireplace, to the 
further detriment of their clothing, and a fresh 
outburst of tears followed. When the cause of 
this interruption to the silence was finally under- 
stood, the girls bethought themselves of that 
babel of voices which marked the beginning of 
their present troubles ; but it was stilled. 

If a spy had been followed into the square, he 
must have made his escape, or been chased to 
some other part of the city. 

“ Surely the bonfire has been burned by this 
time ! Sarah finally suggested. “ Haven’t we 
been here a very long while ? ” 

“Mother and father will come soon now,” 
Dorothy replied with a little ring of hope in her 
voice. “ It is very late. Scip said he would only 
look out of the door, and come straight back, yet 
he has been gone more than an hour.” 

The old darkey had been absent no more than 
five minutes. 

Then, to the intense relief of the children, the 
creaking of the street door was heard, and Dor- 
othy cried as she stepped forward a few paces : 

“ He has come back ! How glad I am ; but I 
will rate him soundly for having stayed so long 
while we were in such danger ! ” 

With the opening of the door the hoarse hum 
of angry voices could be heard a long distance 


THE SPY 


47 


away, as if those who searched for the spy were 
at that end of the square nearest Queen * street, 
and the girls retreated to their place of refuge 
once more, as Dorothy whispered : 

“ How terrible it would be if they should catch 
the soldier now ! I wonder if they would hang 
him in the square ? Father said a spy must be 
killed for doing such work.” 

“ The Britishers have no right to make trouble 
here, now that the Declaration has been read, and 
I don’t know that I am very sorry for the man. 
Why didn’t he stay at Staten Island, with the 
rest of my lord Howe’s soldiers ? ” 

“ You are sorry for him, Sarah Lamb ! ” Dor- 
othy cried sharply, raising her voice slightly. 
“ He is a human person, even if he has come here 
to do harm to our people ! ” 

“ If he hadn’t come to-night we wouldn’t have 
been in so much trouble. It was almost comfor- 
table here with Scip, before the man ran into the 
square.” 

“I suppose they were chasing him, and he 
couldn’t go anywhere else. You would run very 
fast, and never think you might be making 
trouble for two little girls, if men were close be- 
hind trying with all their might to hang you, 
Sarah Lamb ! ” 

“ I suppose I should,” was the meek reply, and 
* Now Pearl street. 


48 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


then, after a brief time of silence, Sarah added, 
“ Why is Scip staying in the entry ? Why don’t 
he come in here ? ” 

“ He has no business to leave us alone so long ! ” 
Dorothy said indignantly. “ He shall be made 
to know his duty toward us ! Scip ! Oh Scip ! 
Come here this instant ! ” 

As if in reply to this summons could be heard 
the grating of the bolt as the outer door was re- 
locked, and the girls came forward to the middle 
of the room where the feeble rays of the candle 
fell upon them ; but neither observed the stains 
and streaks of soot which literally covered the 
other, so intent were both on the supposed move- 
ments of the old darkey. 

“ Come here this instant, Scipio ! ” Dorothy 
cried, after waiting in vain for the appearance of 
the servant. “ I shall tell my father that you are 
trying to frighten us ! ” 

There was no reply to this command. The 
silence was profound, and it would have been a 
welcome break to the sobbing children if they 
could have heard the voices of the people out- 
side. 

“Why don’t you come here and Dorothy 
stamped her little foot, while a fresh outburst of 
tears carried the soot down her face in tiny lines, 
like the tracings of rivers and streams on a map. 

“ It is wicked of him to act like this ! ” Sarah 


THE SPY 


49 


cried tearfully as she retreated to the fireplace 
once more, and Dorothy, suddenly finding herself 
alone in the middle of the room, ran with a little 
cry of fear to the side of her friend. 

While one might have counted twenty the 
girls listened intently ; but without hearing the 
lightest sound to indicate that the house had 
other occupants than themselves, and then anger 
began to take the place of fear in Dorothy’s 
mind. 

“ That old Negro shall be made to know that 
he can’t do just as he pleases simply because 
father isn’t here to make him obey ! What right 
has he to stand in the entry frightening us almost 
to death ? I am going after him ! ” 

This last announcement was made in a very 
shaky voice ; but, having thus declared her in- 
tentions, Dorothy believed it necessary to make 
some decided movement, and she emerged from 
the fireplace again as Sarah cried imploringly : 

“ Surely you’ll never think of going into the 
entry alone ! Don’t leave me here, Dorothy 
dear ! ” 

“We’ll take the candle, and you shall come 
with me. Surely two girls who are over ten 
years old, should have more spirit ; it is because 
we are so afraid that Scip dares to play his pranks. 
I’m going to get the candle.” 

The mantel-shelf was too high for Dorothy to 
4 


50 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


reach it while standing on the floor, and she, 
keeping her face turned resolutely toward Sarah 
lest she should see something horrible amid the 
gloomy corners of the room, pushed a chair 
forward. 

The noise made by the heavy piece of furniture 
as it was forced across the sanded floor sounded 
unearthly in the ears of the children ; but 
Dorothy, with a wonderful display of heroism, 
continued at the task until the chair was directly 
under the oaken shelf. 

“ Stand close by me so that I shan’t fall, and 
we’ll soon make Master Scip feel sorry for hav- 
ing played such a trick on us,” Dorothy com- 
manded, and Sarah obeyed, rather because it 
gave her a trifle more courage to take hold of 
her friend’s garments, than because she had 
any great desire to assist in this marvelous dis- 
play of courage, which absolutely frightened her. 

Dorothy succeeded in getting the candle ; but 
her hands trembled so violently that her bodice 
and gown were streaked with melted tallow 
before she had clambered down from the chair. 

“ Surely you are never going to open that door ? ” 
Sarah whispered as Dorothy walked forward 
timidly, and perhaps these words of incredulity 
forced Master Dean’s daughter to do what she 
would otherwise have failed at. Having boldly 
announced her purpose, it seemed necessary now 


THE SPY 


51 


that she should carry into effect the proposed 
determination ; hut she moved very slowly, and 
clasped Sarah’s hand very tightly, while advanc- 
ing. 

The most difficult portion of the task was to 
open the door, for who could say what horrible 
sight might be disclosed ? Twice she made the 
effort in vain, and then grasped the handle of 
the latch more firmly as she cried : 

“I am coming after you, Scip, you wicked 
servant, and when my father gets home you will 
be sorry for having been so bad ! ” 

An exclamation of relief and surprise burst 
from both the girls when the heavy door was 
swung back, permitting a fairly good view of the 
hall to be had. 

Instead of seeing Scip standing near by, the 
passage was empty. The outer door remained 
closed, and the girls could see the huge key in 
the lock. 

“ He has gone out again ! ” Dorothy cried, and 
once more anger came to aid her courage. 

She had always heard her father and mother 
say that Scip was the one black servant in New 
York who could be relied upon as to faithfulnsss 
and a desire to serve his master’s interests, and 
yet on this particular evening of all others, was 
he behaving in a most unseemingly and dis- 
agreeable manner. 


52 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Without really being aware of what she did, 
Dorothy advanced toward the door, Sarah follow- 
ing perforce because she did not dare loose the 
hold of her companion’s gown, and the two halted 
only when they were close to the threshold. 

“ Surely you are not going to open that door ! ” 
Sarah cried in alarm. 

“ Of course not ; but I have a mind to lock it, 
and then Scip will be forced to beg us to let him 
in.” 

“ But we would be here alone ! ” 

“ We are alone now, and it will be safer if the 
door is locked. Any straggler could get in if 
we left it as it is.” 

As she spoke Dorothy took hold of the big key, 
using all her strength to turn it in the lock ; 
but her efforts were in vain. 

“ Don’t try,” Sarah said imploringly. “ It is 
too heavy for you to turn.” 

“ I have done it many times before,” and Dor- 
othy persisted, perhaps because her friend in- 
timated that she could not, until to her great 
surprise she found that despite all efforts the 
key remained immovable. 

Then she laid hold of the door handle, and thus 
discovered that the bolt had been thrown into the 
socket. 

“ It is locked ! Scip must have gone out again ! ” 

“ He couldn’t do so and leave the key inside,” 


THE SPY 


53 


Sarah suggested tearfully. “ Oh this is dreadful, 
Dorothy ! Let us go back to the living room ! ” 

“ But if Scip locked himself inside the house, 
why isn’t he here now?” and Dorothy spoke 
sharply. 

“He is hiding to frighten us, and it is very 
wicked for him to act in such a cruel manner,” 
Sarah wailed, her grief becoming so violent that 
Dorothy was aroused to do what otherwise she 
would have shrank from. 

“ I will find him, and tell the wicked creature 
what he may expect when father comes home. 
Scip ! Scip ! Come out here this very moment, 
or you shall be soundly whipped on the morrow ! ” 

There was no reply. No sound came either 
from the inside or the outside, and in Dorothy’s 
trembling hands the candle flared and flickered 
in a fashion that caused the shadows to dance in 
a most horrible manner. 

“ Scip ! Come here this instant ! ” and little 
Mistress Dorothy stamped her foot impatiently, 
shaking the latch of the parlor door. “I know 
you are hiding in this room, so come out at 
once ! ” 

The door gave way under the feeble impulse of 
her trembling hands, and swung inward. 

The tiny flame of the candle illumined a small 
square of. the spotless floor ; but it was in this 
square that the frightened girls saw a stranger 


54 : 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


standing ; a man with pale face, and torn cloth- 
ing. 

Brief as was the glance bestowed upon the un- 
expected and startling sight, the children could 
see that one hand and arm of the unwelcome 
visitor was stained with blood, while his fingers 
clutched a huge pistol. 

With one shrill scream the children ran at full 
speed to the refuge of the fireplace, dropping the 
candle in their flight, and there, in close embrace, 
they cowered trembling, almost beside themselves 
with fear, against the soot-covered bricks. 

“ I shall die ! I shall die ! Why don’t mother 
come ? ” Sarah moaned, pressing her face against 
Dorothy’s dirty hand. “ What was that in the 
best room?” 

“A man, Sarah, and it must be that he has 
come to kill us, though why he should do so I 
can’t say, for we’ve never done anything wrong 
to him ! ” 

During ten seconds or more the girls remained 
silent, and, save for the sobs which shook their 
small bodies, motionless. 

The silence was most profound, and this ab- 
sence of any evidence of life was more terrifying 
than the greatest tumult could have been. 

“ Can’t you pray, Dorothy ? ” Sarah moaned. 
“We must do something, you know, before he 
comes in here.” 


THE SPY 


55 


Dorothy hesitated an instant, and then as if 
realizing that there was no other way by which 
they could appeal for help, she knelt down amid 
the ashes, never once thinking of her bright green 
stockings, and began in a thin, shrill voice which 
could well have been heard by that terrible 
stranger in the parlor, more particularly because 
the doors were open : 

“ Dear, kind, good Lord, we two poor girls are 
all alone in this big house, and Scip has run away. 
There’s a bad man in the best room who has come 
to kill us, and won’t You smite him to save us who 
never did You nor him any harm? We — we — 
we — ” Dorothy was at a loss to know how the 
petition should be brought to a close, for it was 
her first original prayer, and as she hesitated the 
words that had been read on that afternoon came 
to mind, therefore she added, “ and we mutually 
pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and 
our sacred honor. Amen.” 

It was as if the children expected an immediate 
answer to the petition, for they clung to each other 
in silence, choking back their sobs as they listened 
intently, and suddenly the silence was broken by 
the sound of approaching footsteps. 

The prayer was to be answered. 

“ He’s coming to kill us ! ” Sarah cried in an 
agony of fear, and before Dorothy could make re- 
ply, even had she been able to do so, the flaring 


56 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


light of the candle appeared in the doorway as a 
mild voice said slowly : 

“ I had no idea that by trying to save my life 
from the howling mob I was like to frighten two 
children so terribly. Bless your sweet hearts, I 
have three little girls in my home over the sea, 
and would as soon think of harming them, as of 
touching even a hair of your dear heads.” 

This speech was so unlike what a bloody- 
minded murderer would have made that Dorothy 
was emboldened to look up, and she saw in the 
faint light the man who was in the best room 
when they unintentionally opened the door. 

She noted in that quick glance his kindly face, 
pale and drawn though it was, and straightway 
her courage came back in some slight degree, al- 
though not to such an extent that she dared 
venture out from the fireplace. 

“ If you please, sir, where is Scip ? ” she asked 
timidly. 

“ And who may he be, my dear ? ” 

“ Our servant, who was sent to take care of us ; 
but who went out to learn the meaning of the 
hue and cry.” 

“ That I cannot tell you, my poor, little 
frightened baby. It saved my life for the mo- 
ment that he left the door open, and I darted in- 
side just in time to put the mob off the scent. 
Although death was at my heels, I would have 


THE SPY 57 

passed by your home had I known how much 
suffering my coming was to cause.” 

The stranger did not venture to approach the 
fireplace, but stood in the middle of the room 
holding the candle, as if purposely, that his face 
might be seen, and by this time, thanks to his 
gentle words, the girls mustered up sufficient 
courage to look at him boldly. 

“Was it you, sir, who locked the door?” 
Dorothy asked after a long pause. 

“ Yes, my child. The key was in the lock. I 
judged from the appearance that the house was 
owned by some influential man of the city, and 
believed that once hidden here I would be in 
comparative safety, unless it so chanced that he 
proved to be a rank rebel who would think he 
was doing his full duty by throwing me back to 
the wolves.” 

“ My father is one whom the king’s people call 
a rebel, sir,” Dorothy interrupted, now so much 
assured of safety from a murderer’s knife as to 
remember her manners by dropping him a 
curtsey. 

“ Where is he now, my dear ? ” 

“ At Bowling Green, helping make the bonfire, 
sir. He is a Son of Liberty.” 

The stranger looked nervously around as a 
hunted animal might have done, and then setting 
his lips firmly together, he asked : 


58 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“ And what might be his name, young mis- 
tress ? ” 

“ Jacob Dean, the silversmith, an’ it please you, 
sir.” 

“ Then indeed I have sought a sorry shelter, 
and it behooves me to make further flight.” 

“ Why should you run away from my father, 
sir ? ” Dorothy asked in surprise. “ Surely 
never a kinder gentleman can be found in all this 
city.” 

“I can well believe that, after seeing his 
daughter ; but I am Lieutenant Fitzroy Oakman, 
of his majesty’s Forty-fourth foot, and because 
of my commission, may not be pleasing even to 
so kindly a gentleman as your father.” 

“ Surely he would be courteous, even to one of 
the king’s officers, sir.” 

“ Ay, Mistress Dean ; but I am he whom the 
townspeople have been hunting down as a spy, 
to hang me, an’ by my faith, it begins to look as 
if they would succeed.” 

“ A spy ! ” Dorothy gasped, falling back toward 
the fireplace as, with a fresh outburst of tears, 
Sarah clung to her franctically. 


CHAPTER IV 


AIDING AN ENEMY 

“It frightens you to know that I am a spy,” 
the officer said sadly, after this last outburst of 
weeping was lessened, “ and yet I am as loving 
a father as yours can be, my young mistress. 
My children cling to me as his does to him, al- 
though were Jacob Dean to stand before them 
as I appeared to you, doubtless they would be 
afraid.” 

“ Why did you come here to spy upon us ? ” 
Dorothy asked passionately. “ Do you not know 
that this colony is no longer ruled by the king ? ” 

“ I know, my child, that the people here have 
revolted against what appears to me to be their 
lawful sovereign ; but you must realize that while 
they say one thing, his majesty says another, and 
I fear there will be much bloodshed and suffer- 
ing before we learn who is in the right, or, in 
other words, who is strongest.” 

“ That is no reason why you should come here 
to distress us by being a spy, sir,” and Dorothy 
stepped out from the fireplace once more, no 
59 


60 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


longer feeling any fear of this man who had little 
girls of his own at home. 

“ Quite true, my dear. I came because orders 
had been given to that effect, and, being a sol- 
dier, I was bound in duty to obey. Which 
would you rather, be punished for disobedience 
to your father, or because, in obeying him, you 
incurred the displeasure of some other person ? ” 

“ I always do as my father commands, sir.” 

“And therein you are right, my dear little 
girl. So it is with me. I do as my superior of- 
ficer commands, and if the obeying leads me to 
death, my children will have no reason to blush 
when their father’s name is spoken. Now I will 
go, taking whatsoever chances may be left in this 
rat-hole of a square where all the exits are 
guarded. Do not give way to fear because you 
are alone in the house, for there is nothing to 
harm you here, more than if your parents were 
present. The servant will probably return soon ; 
but until he, or your father arrives, it will be 
well to keep the door locked lest evil disposed 
men, who have no babies of their own, should 
enter.” 

As he spoke Lieutenant Oakman turned to- 
ward the door which led into the main hall ; but 
he had not yet crossed the threshold when a 
tumult of cries and shouts suddenly sounded as 
if from directly in front of the building. 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


61 


“ He went in here somewhere, for it is certain 
there was no chance to get out of the square ! 
Search the houses ! ” 

The officer drew the pistol which he had 
concealed in his pocket during the conversation 
with the children, and stood ready for an attack, 
yet undecided as to what course he should pur- 
sue. 

“ Surely you are not going out, sir, while those 
wicked men are so near ? ” Dorothy cried as she 
laid one small hand on his arm. 

“ It must be, unless there is a rear door which 
leads to some other street.” 

As if to convince the fugitive that there was 
no way of escape, shouts arose from behind the 
dwelling, and a voice was heard crying : 

“ This way, half a dozen of you men ! Stand 
guard here, and see to it that no one is allowed 
to leave these three buildings. The Britisher is 
in one of them, and, unless a mistake is made by 
us, we’ll soon smoke him out ! ” 

“It seems that these worthy Americans are 
not to be caught napping, and I must face them. 
Better that the end comes in such manner, than 
at the tail of a rope to amuse the herd of so- 
called patriots,” the officer said half to himself, 
and was on the point of entering the hall when 
Dorothy stopped him once more. 

“ You must not go out, sir. Wait until my 


62 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


father comes ; he will know what it is best for you 
to do.” 

“ Ay, my child, he will doubtless know what 
is best for him to do, and I can well fancy what 
that may be ; but I am going more particularly 
in order to relieve you from a disagreeable vis- 
itor.” 

“ Then you may stay, sir, for Sarah and I are 
no longer afraid. It is much nicer to have you 
here in the place of Scip,” Dorothy said in the 
most friendly tone. 

“ I thank you, young mistress, and I am well 
pleased to have shown that a British officer, even 
though he be playing the spy for the time, is not 
as great a villain as you had supposed. But how 
can you, the daughter of Jacob Dean, that most 
violent of Whigs, allow a spy to outwit those 
children of liberty who are howling for blood ? ” 
and Lieutenant Oakman waved his hand toward 
that point from which the cries and shouts could 
yet be heard. 

“ You must not go out while those people are 
there,” and Dorothy felt quite proud because she 
had succeeded in speaking as her mother would 
have done. 

This satisfaction with herself because she had 
made the proper reply, was so pleasing that she 
glanced down at her gown to make certain it was 
showing to the best advantage, when, for the first 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


63 


time, the little maid became aware of the havoc 
which had been wrought in her personal appear- 
ance. 

Her face flushed rosy red as she looked first at 
Sarah and then at such portions of her own gar- 
ments as could readily be seen, and the officer 
said with a smile : 

“ You need make no excuses, young mistress. 
I am the cause of all that disorder, and surely 
should be the last to criticise. I have no great 
desire to venture out of doors while there are so 
many near at hand to greet me ; but I would not 
plunge you into difficulties with your father, as 
may be the case if I remain.” 

“ You can at least wait until he comes, sir.” 

“ True, my dear ; but are you, who have been 
celebrating the Declaration of Rights so lately, 
willing to give aid to one who is bound to render 
them of no avail ? ” 

Dorothy was perplexed. She was not minded 
to let this gentleman who spoke so tenderly of his 
children go out to meet his executioners simply 
because of what might come to her in the way of 
trouble ; but at the same time, the idea of giving 
aid to one who represented the king, was not ex- 
actly in accordance with the lesson her father had 
given her that very morning. 

Lieutenant Oakman, replacing the pistol in his 
pocket, watched her narrowly as she turned over 


64 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


these matters in her mind, and when her face 
suddenly brightened, he gravely kissed her tiny 
hand with as much ceremony as if she, the daugh- 
ter of a silversmith, had been a queen. 

“ You are to stay till father comes home, sir. 
I am certain he would not do anything to your 
harm, and if he thinks you ought not remain, 
then will be time enough for you to go.” 

“ You are a brave and a kind little lady, and if 
it so be that I live to see my darlings once more, 
they shall know that a certain tiny maid in 
America saved, for however short a time it may 
be*, the life of their father. And now Mistress 
Dean, since I am the invited guest of you and 
your sister, will it please you that I extinguish 
the candle ? ” 

“ This is not my sister, sir,” and the girl took her 
companion by the hand. “ This is Sarah Lamb, 
whose father keeps a shop on Old Slip, and I am 
Dorothy Dean.” 

“ I am in a nest of patriots without mistake,” 
Lieutenant Oakman muttered to himself, most 
likely speculating as to whether those Sons of 
Liberty who claimed these children as daughters, 
would be as willing to extend hospitality to a 
British spy. Then in a louder tone he added, “ I 
presume it is Anthony Lamb of whom you 
speak ? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” Sarah replied, taking part in the 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


65 


conversation for the first time since the intruder 
had made his appearance. “ My father makes 
mathematical instruments.” 

“ I have heard of him to the effect that there 
is no stauncher patriot in the city. Now, young 
ladies, have I your permission to extinguish the 
candle ? ” 

“ Why should you do that, sir ? ” Dorothy asked 
curiously. 

“ Those gentlemen on the outside, who are so 
eager to lay hands on me, may not try to come 
into the house if it appears to be deserted, where- 
as, with such evident signs of occupancy as the 
glow of this candle through the crevices of the 
shutters, they would insist on having speech 
with whomsoever was within.” 

“ Blow it out at once, sir,” Dorothy said hastily, 
as she led Sarah to a seat on the settee which 
stood conveniently near the fireplace. 

During this conversation the tumult outside 
had been increasing, until the din was so great 
that only with difficulty could the speakers in- 
side made themselves heard, and, as proof that 
the searchers were closing in around the building, 
it was possible to hear very much which they 
said 

The officer and the children listened intently, 
and understood from the words that the three 
dwellings in the immediate vicinity were being 

5 


66 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


surrounded preparatory to a search of their in- 
teriors. 

Those who were hunting for the spy had be- 
come convinced that, by some means, he had 
gained an entrance to one or another of the 
houses, and were determined to leave no oppor- 
tunity for escape. 

If the candle had been lighted the children 
would have seen on Lieutenant Oakman’s face a 
look of distress, for it must have appeared to him 
just then that the closing act in the tragedy of 
which he was the principal actor, was nearly at 
hand. He had no reason to believe Jacob Dean 
would aid him, an enemy, even if those on the 
outside should leave him in peace until the 
owner of the dwelling arrived, and it was quite 
certain the house would speedily be searched 
whether the master was present or absent. 

Dorothy was tingling with excitement, and 
secretly rejoicing because it was now so dark 
that the soot on her face and clothing could not 
be seen. She had almost forgotten that this very 
kindly gentleman who treated her with quite as 
much respect as if she had been a full-grown lady, 
was an enemy and a spy ; but remembered only 
that she was doing something toward saving his 
life. 

A tender heart had Mistress Dorothy Dean, 
and as she thought of the officer’s children so far 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


67 


away, who might never again see their father 
unless she could give him all the aid he needed, 
the tears overflowed her eyelids once more, and 
she wept because of the sorrow which, possibly, 
would soon come to them. 

Then, so suddenly that the occupants of the 
living room started in surprise, came a loud 
knocking at the front door, and the lieutenant 
had recourse to his pistol once more. 

AVithout waiting to ask advice, Dorothy walked 
boldly through the hall, Lieutenant Oakman 
following close behind, but never venturing to 
give advice, or ask for favors. He was treating 
her exactly as he would have treated her mother, 
and the little maid felt exceeding proud. 

“ AVho is there ? ” Dorothy asked in a loud 
tone, as she rattled the latch of the door 
to attract the attention of him who had 
thus demanded admittance, for the tumult 
was so great that her voice might not have been 
heard. 

“It’s yer ole Scip, honey. Open de door 
quick, ’fore dis yere crowd gets too near.” 

“Wliere have you been?” Dorothy asked, 
trying to decide what she ought to do, and fear- 
ing lest others might try to enter in company 
with the old darkey. 

“ I des went out fur ter see what was de rum- 
pus, an’ come straight back soon’s I got de news. 


68 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


Open de door, little Missy, kase dere’s a pow’ful 
fuss ’roun’ here ! 

Just for an instant Dorothy hesitated. She 
realized that it might not be prudent to trust the 
old servant with the secret of the spy’s where- 
abouts, for the troublous times in which the little 
maid lived had caused her to be cautious beyond 
her years, and then she said in a tone of com- 
mand : 

“ Go straight back and find mother. We are 
locked in here, so no harm can befall us, and she 
may need you.” 

It is possible that Scipio might have questioned 
any other order which involved leaving his 
young mistress with whose care he had been 
charged ; but to return to the scene of the festivi- 
ties under a positive command which would 
absolve him from all blame, was too tempting to 
be resisted. 

“ Is yer suah yo’ wants me ter go ? ” he asked 
as if to soothe his own conscience. 

“Of course I am,” Dorothy replied sharply. 
“ No harm came to us while you were loitering 
outside and the door was unfastened, therefore 
now that it is locked we shall be safe.” 

“ An’ yo’ ain’t a teeny littly bit ’fraid ? ” 

“We are getting on famously, and you may tell 
mother so, though I hope she will come soon.” 

“ Den I’se gwine.” 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


69 


The listeners were not certain Scipio had turned 
away from the door until they heard a voice cry 
sharply : * 

“ Hold on there, you black man ! Whose house 
is this?” 

And from a short distance away Scip’s reply 
could be heard : 

“ Massa Jacob Dean, de silbersmif.” 

“ Who is inside ? ” 

“ De young Missy, an’ Sarah Lamb — des two 
chillun.” 

“ Why didn’t you go in ? ” 

“Kase de door was locked. Yo’ see dem chil- 
lun am ’fraid ter be erlone dese yere terribel 
times, an’ it stands to reason dey don’t want 
strange folks tramplin’ in an’ out.” 

“ Oh, Jacob Dean wouldn’t harbor a spy ! ” a 
third voice cried. “ There’s no use of wastin’ our 
time at this house.” 

Dorothy drew a long breath of relief as she 
heard these words, and at the same time fancied 
that the silent soldier by her side stood more nearly 
erect, as if a great burden had been lifted from 
his mind ; but the new-born hope was speedily 
crushed as the first speaker said sharply : 

“We shall search all the houses, whether they 
are owned by Whig or Tory, therefore get back 
to your post at once. I will attend to these 
matters.” 


70 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“ They are coming in here ! ” Dorothy said in 
a whisper, her voice trembling as she realized 
what would happen once the searchers entered 
the house. 

“Yes, my child,” was the grave reply. “ You 
might be able to keep the door against them for 
a short while ; but such a mob as that outside 
would soon force an entrance. The hope of 
capturing me has deadened for them all fear of 
possible consequences.” 

“And what will you do, sir?” Sarah Lamb 
asked tremulously. 

“ Go out to meet them before they batter the 
door down.” 

“ They would kill you.” 

“ That is not a pleasant subject for you, my 
dear. Don’t think of it ; but remember that you 
once did a certain British soldier a great favor by 
allowing him to remain for a short time in your 
company.” 

Dorothy had walked slowly toward the living 
room while her friend and the spy were thus 
talking, and, as they did not follow her, she said 
softly : 

“Come in here. Those miserable wretches 
may be listening at the door.” 

Mistress Dorothy had completely lost sight of 
the fact that “ those miserable wretches ” were 
called “ patriots ” by her father, and that but a 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


71 


short hour ago she would have condemned ab- 
solutely any of her acquaintances who might 
have held converse with a member of my lord 
Howe’s army. 

Lieutenant Oakman followed the children, his 
hand on Sarah’s head as if by touching her hair 
he was brought nearer his own little ones, and 
when the three were in the living room again, 
Dorothy said : 

“ Think you those men would search the house 
while my father and mother were away ? ” and 
the officer replied thoughtfully : 

“ They are capable of doing all that ; hut the 
fact that Jacob Dean is so prominent in this re- 
bellion, and you two children are here alone, 
might cause the men to wait until your parents 
return. If, however, I do not succeed in slipping 
away secretly, there will be no reason for a 
search, since the prey will have been taken.” 

“ I wasn’t thinking of your trying to get away ; 
but wondering why you couldn’t hide up-stairs. 
In the attic is a wooden chest with a stout lock. 
Mother kept the winter clothing in it until father 
bought her one made of camphor wood. Couldn’t 
you lie down in it, and let me turn the key? 
They surely wouldn’t dare to break it while 
father is away.” 

“There is a chance that in this particular 
house I might be hidden in such fashion, for the 


72 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


search won’t be rigorous,” the lieutenant said as 
if speaking to himself. “ But it may be a case of 
out of the frying-pan into the fire. When your 
father comes home he will probably insist on send- 
ing the provost guard after me,” and then, raising 
his voice, he added, “ If I am to be taken alive, 
little maid, it is more seemly that the arrest be 
made by soldiers, than by such as make up yonder 
mob. With your permission, Mistress Dean, I 
will betake myself to the chest.” 

Lieutenant Oakman was making a brave effort 
to speak in a jovial tone that the children might 
not be yet more alarmed ; but the tremor of his 
voice told that he was not succeeding remarkably 
well. 

“ Can you light the candle with the flint and 
cotton, sir ? ” Dorothy asked. 

“Possibly, after a clumsy fashion; but it is 
better that we go in the dark, for the light may 
be seen from the outside, and the question would 
be asked as to why you went up-stairs.” 

Dorothy hesitated an instant, not having any 
great liking for venturing into the attic in the 
darkness, and then said gravely : 

“ I will go ahead to show the way. You and 
Sarah must follow very close behind.” 

The officer bowed, although, owing to the 
gloom, the children were not aware of the fact, 
and little Mistress Dean went to the stairway, 


AIDING AN ENEMY 73 

groping here and there with her hands out- 
stretched. 

In silence the three ascended two flights of 
stairs, after which they were come to the attic 
filled with such household articles as could no 
longer be of service to the family, and here 
several moments were spent before the little 
maid found that for which she sought. 

“ Here it is,” she said finally, and Lieutenant 
Oakman passed his hands over it, both outside 
and inside. 

“ It will make a famous hiding-place, provided 
those who search do not take it into their heads 
to break it open with an ax. Rather close for 
wholesome breathing, perhaps; but I have a 
knife with which an air hole can be made when I 
have nothing else to occupy my attention. Will 
you kiss me, my little ladies ? ” 

Never before had Dorothy believed she would 
willingly kiss a British spy; but now she was 
glad to do so, and, having thus taken a father- 
ly leave of them, my lord Howe’s lieutenant 
stretched himself out at full length in Mistress 
Dean’s clothing chest. 

“ I will lock it, sir,” Dorothy whispered, “ and 
come to you again as soon as may be.” 

“If your father should blame you far thus 
having given aid to an enemy, pray him to come 
and have speech with me before saying anything 


74 : 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


which would cause you pain,” the officer said, 
holding Dorothy’s hand as he spoke lest she 
should close the lid too soon. 

“ When I have told him all, he will be glad 
that you got away from those miserable persons,” 
Dorothy whispered as she shut the prisoner in, 
and while she was turning the key Lieutenant 
Oakman said grimly to himself : 

“ I very much fear that my little maid is mak- 
ing a grievious mistake as to how her father will 
receive the news that his roof is sheltering a spy, 
and the chances are that I shall be lodged in the 
common jail before morning.” 

Immediately the chest was locked it seemed to 
the children as if they were entirely alone in the 
attic, unable to see even each other, and straight- 
way both began to grow alarmed because of the 
possibilities of the darkness. 

“ Take hold of my hand,” Dorothy whispered, 
“ and we will run as fast as ever we can. I’m 
afraid I can’t light the candle when we are down- 
stairs.” 

Sarah made no reply ; but clutched her friend’s 
hand with a nervous force which told plainly of 
her fears, and the two descended the stairs more 
rapidly than was consistent with safety. 

Gaining the living room, they halted near the 
fireplace, breathless and frightened, but listening 
intently for that which should tell them that the 


AIDING AN ENEMY 


75 

men, whose voices could be plainly heard from 
the outside, were about to make a search of 
the house. 

“Wouldn’t it be dreadful if they should take 
him now?” Dorothy whispered, and Sarah re- 
plied hesitatingly : 

“ Indeed it would ; but what will happen to us 
when it is known that we actually hid in your 
attic a spy ? The other girls won’t speak to us, 
and I’m not certain but that our parents will 
punish us severely. Do you remember what 
General Washington’s aide read this evening 
about the king’s doings ? That he had ‘ plundered 
our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people,’ and now 
we are just the same as helping his majesty in all 
that terrible wickedness ! ” 

“Would you have given that poor man up 
to be hanged, Sarah Lamb?” Dorothy asked 
sternly. 

“ Of course I wouldn’t ! ” 

“ Then don’t talk as if we had been doing some- 
thing wrong.” 

“ How can I help it, Dorothy, when I think of 
what your father and mine will say to us ? They 
are Sons of Liberty, and we, their children, are 
doing just what they say shouldn’t be done.” 

Little Mistress Dean had thought many times 
since she began to converse in friendly fashion 


76 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


with the spy, as to what her father might say 
regarding her behavior, and now that the deed 
was done, now that Scipio had been sent away to 
the end that she might the more secretly hide an 
enemy to her country, now that she no longer 
heard the lieutenant speaking of his children at 
home, there was the fear in her mind lest she had 
committed a grievous crime. 

The girls were so deeply occupied with painful 
thoughts that they gave no heed to the darkness ; 
but crouched silently side by side on the settee, 
until a vigorous pounding at the street door 
brought them suddenly to their feet, as a rough 
voice cried : 

“Open up here! We’re searchin’ for a spy, 
and demand admittance in the name of the United 
Colonies ! ” 


CHAPTER V 


THE SEARCH 

This peremptory summons alarmed the girls 
almost as much as had the sight of Lieutenant Oak- 
man in the best room, and involuntarily they 
clasped each other by the neck; but without 
making any movement toward the door. 

The knocking was repeated yet more loudly, 
and Sarah whispered tearfully : 

“ If those wicked men come in while your father 
is away, they will be certain to find that poor 
spy ! ” 

“ And when we tell father that the officer is in 
the attic, I’m afraid there may be the worst kind 
of trouble. It was only this afternoon that he 
said, when speaking of the spy which was chased 
through the square, ‘ Such a man may do more 
injury than an hundred who stand up with 
muskets to shoot us down.’ ” 

“ Are you beginning to be sorry we hid him ? ” 

“Indeed I am not! I can’t help thinking, 
however, now it has been done, that father may 
be very angry, and will, perhaps, give him up 
immediately to those wicked men.” 

77 


78 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“ Why not keep it a secret from everybody, and 
we may get a chance to slip him down the front 
stairs to-morrow, when your mother is in the 
kitchen ? ” 

“ Sarah Lamb ! Do you think I would bring a 
Britisher into this house and not tell my parents ? ” 

“ But if it was to save the poor man’s life ? ” 
young Mistress Lamb persisted. 

“ I couldn’t do such a thing, no matter how 
much depended on it, because ” 

“ Inside there ! Are you goin’ to open this 
door, or shall we stave it in ? ” came in angry 
tones from the outside. 

“ You must say something to them,” and Sarah 
pushed her friend through the long hallway. 

Dorothy grew brave once more, remembering 
that it was a man’s life she was trying to save, 
and, with her mouth close to the keyhole, she 
cried at the full strength of her lungs : 

“ There is nobody in here except Sarah Lamb, 
daughter of Master Anthony Lamb, and me — 
Dorothy Dean ! We can’t let you in until father 
comes, and he should be here soon, for I have just 
sent Scip after him.” 

“We can’t wait for any such foolishness. A 
British spy ran into one of these houses ; we have 
searched the others, and know he must be here. 
Open the door. There is nobody with us who 
will harm a couple of children.” 


THE SEARCH 


79 

“ I can’t until my father comes,” Dorothy said 
firmly ; but, had there been a light in the hall, 
Sarah could have seen that her face was very 
pale. 

“ If Jacob Dean was hot on the trail of a spy 
from Howe’s army, as we are, he would not hesi- 
tate to break into any man’s house ! ” the voice 
from the outside cried angrily, and his followers 
applauded the statement by shouting : 

“ That’s the kind of talk to make ! At such 
a time as this no man’s house is his castle ! 
Burst open the door ! Bring a log or heavy 
beam, an’ we’ll soon walk in ! ” 

When this outburst had subsided somewhat, 
the man who stood on the stoop cried to Dorothy : 

“ You must see that we’re bound to make an 
entrance here, and can’t await your father’s 
movements. Unless you open we shall batter 
the door down.” 

“ I shall not open, and if you dare injure this 
house it will be to your cost ! ” Dorothy cried 
bravely, and she was exceeding well pleased with 
herself that she had been able to speak so firmly. 

“ Here’s a timber that will do the business ! ” 
some one in the throng shouted, and he who 
had acted as spokesman cried loudly : 

“ Lay hold there, a dozen or more, and make 
ready to give her a run forward.” Then speak- 
ing to the children, he said, “ Stand back, or go 


80 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


into the other room, else you will be badly hurt 
when the door gives way, as give it must when 
we get a fair blow at it.” 

Then it was that Dorothy displayed such firm- 
ness and temper as her father might have shown 
under similar circumstances. 

“ Sarah and I will stand directly here, and if 
we are killed or wounded, your crime will be all 
the greater!” 

“What’s that?” some one asked, and the 
spokesman repeated the girl’s words. 

“ It’s no concern of ours if she chooses to run 
her head into danger ! ” a voice cried. “ Let the 
chit take the consequences, if she is so pert. 
Come on with the timber ! ” 

Then it was that some man, one who probably 
had children of his own at home, shouted : 

“It were better, ten times over, to wait till 
Jacob Dean comes back, than to harm a child ! ” 

With this the men began to wrangle among 
themselves, some in favor of breaking down the 
barrier at any cost, and others insisting that it 
would be a dastardly crime to do such a thing, 
more especially while the owner of the dwelling 
was absent. 

This discussion lasted ten minutes or more, and 
fortunate for the children it was, since at the 
end of that time Masters Dean and Lamb, with 
their wives, arrived. 


THE SEARCH 


81 


Just prior to their coming the mob had decided 
that an entrance should he forced at all hazards, 
and a large number had raised the timber pre- 
paratory to using it as a battering-ram, when the 
silversmith came into view. 

The children were apprised of his approach by 
hearing him cry angrily, while yet some distance 
away: 

“ What are you doing there, you villains ? ” 

“We are naught but honest men and true,” 
the spokesman near the door cried sharply. 
“ When Sons of Liberty begin the work of end- 
ing the king’s rule by harborin’ spies, it is time 
those whom you call villains should look after 
the safety of the city.” 

“What do you mean, you rogue?” Master 
Dean cried, and from his tone Dorothy under- 
stood, even though no one else might have done 
so, that he was in a towering rage. 

“We followed a British spy into the square, 
and he gave us the slip near about this place,” 
another man replied with a certain degree of 
respect. “We have searched two dwellings, 
and would have done the same by this, in an 
orderly fashion, but that your daughter refused 
us admittance in your absence.” 

“ And she was right in so doing ! ” Master 
Jacob cried. “My house has been closed since 
the celebration began, until an hour or more 
6 


82 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


ago, when I sent Dorothy home in company with 
Sarah Lamb, and accompanied by an old servant, 
Scipio, whom doubtless some of you know by 
sight. The doors have not been unlocked, save 
to admit them, and allow him to pass out, but 
yet you batter at my dwelling, which is defended 
by two children, under the excuse that you are 
serving the Cause. Out upon such patriots as 
you, who would plunder other peoples’ homes 
with the pretext of aiding your distressed coun- 
try ! ” 

“ But the door wasn’t locked all the time, for 
Scip left it open when he went out,” Sarah 
whispered in her friend’s ear, and Dorothy re- 
plied softly : 

“It must be that Scip so told him, for my 
father wouldn’t say anything which he did not 
believe to be the truth.” 

Judging from the silence, Master Dean’s words 
abashed a certain number of the mob, for no im- 
mediate reply was made, and very shortly after- 
ward the children heard the silversmith’s voice 
as he rattled the latch of the door. 

“Give me entrance, my daughter. You need 
no longer have any fear, for I’ll warrant that 
these self-styled patriots will think twice before 
destroying my property under guise of good in- 
tentions.” 

“ We’ve been doing no more than you yourself 


THE SEARCH 


83 


would have done, Jacob Dean,” some one cried, 
and the worthy silversmith turned on the speaker 
in a rage. 

“Do you dare to say that I would make an 
attack on two helpless children ? ” 

“ It wasn’t the girls, but the spy, that brought 
us here ! ” 

“ And if the spy, as you claim, was shut up in 
this house, would it not have been as well to 
summon me, before battering in a door that can 
hardly be replaced in this country ? ” 

During this brief conversation Dorothy had 
been struggling to turn the huge key in the lock, 
and had only just succeeded when Master Dean 
ceased speaking 

He did not, however, enter immediately ; but 
stepped aside to admit the ladies, and when they 
were inside, Master Lamb joined him on the 
threshold, where the two men stood holding back 
the mob. 

Now had come the time when Dorothy believed 
it was necessary she should tell her father all that 
had occurred ; but her mother insisted that she 
and Sarah come into the living room without 
delay. 

“ May I speak with him just for one moment ? ” 
the child pleaded; but Mistress Dean did not 
think it seemly the children should remain be- 
fore the mob of men, and, never supposing there 


84 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


could be anything of importance to her husband 
in what Dorothy wanted to say, peremptorily 
ordered her to come into the living room. 

“ You might tell your mother about what is in 
the attic,” Sarah whispered ; but Dorothy shook 
her head decidedly. 

“ I had rather tell my father first.” 

Then arose a great outcry from the square in 
front of the building, as many of the mob in- 
sisted on entering to make the search, and Masters 
Dean and Lamb stoutly resisted such attempt. 

The people living near by, returning from the 
scene of the festivities, were attracted by the out- 
cries, and stood idly around to learn the cause of 
the tumult, thus adding to the numbers, until it 
was as if the entire population of the city had 
gathered outside Master Dean’s house. 

For a time the silversmith declared that the 
dwelling should not be searched, because it was 
absolutely impossible that any person, save mem- 
bers of his own family, could have entered during 
his absence ; but the disturbance became so great 
that Master Lamb finally advised that some con- 
cessions be made. 

After considerable discussion with the maker 
of mathematical instruments, Master Dean said, 
addressing the mob : 

“ I am advised by Master Lamb, that the best 
way to put an end to this outrage upon the pub- 


THE SEARCH 


85 


lie peace and the rights of private and law-abiding 
citizens, is to let you prove for yourselves that 
there is no person concealed in this building. I 
will not, however, have such a mob trooping 
through my dwelling. You may choose two to 
accompany Master Lamb and myself, and a 
thorough search shall be made.” 

Now it was that Dorothy ran forward, seizing 
an opportunity when her mother was deeply en- 
gaged with Mistress Lamb, and caught her father 
by the skirts of his coat. 

She was determined to tell him everything 
then, even though obliged to speak in the presence 
of Sarah’s father, believing that the officer would 
be speedily discovered once the search was begun. 

The worthy silversmith was not in the proper 
frame of mind to listen to his daughter just then, 
and, speaking more sharply than Dorothy had 
ever known him to speak before, he commanded 
her to return immediately to her mother’s side. 

There was nothing for the child to do but obey, 
because at that moment two men advanced, and 
Master Dean gave his entire attention to them. 

“ Since you insist by show of force, to intrude 
upon my privacy, I ask that you do your work 
with all possible speed, and then leave honest peo- 
ple in peace. Where will you representatives of 
a mob be pleased to go first ? ” 

While speaking he had ushered the men into 


86 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


the living room, and there, in the presence of the 
ladies, the men appeared decidedly uncomfort- 
able, for to be looked upon as persons who were 
forcing themselves into a private residence for 
base purposes, was well calculated to abash any 
save a hardened criminal. 

Old Scip had followed the searchers, and, see- 
ing him, Master Dean deferred the business on 
hand, by saying : 

44 Here is the servant who came home with the 
children, at about the time we on Bowling Green 
were starting the bonfire, and he and they were 
the first to enter the building after my wife and 
Mistress Lamb set out for the common. We 
will hear what he has to say. Scipio,” he added, 
addressing the old darkey , 44 were the house doors 
securely locked when you came here with your 
young mistress ? ” 

44 ’Deed dey was, Massa.” 

44 Did you lock the door by which you entered, 
immediately after coming into the house ? ” 

44 Fur sartin, Massa.” 

44 Was it unlocked at any time, save to allow 
you to get out ? ” 

“Nebber once, Massa, an’ dat am de gospil 
trufe ! ” 

44 But father ” — Dorothy began, and before she 
could say anything more Master Dean stopped 
her with a gesture of impatience. 


THE SEARCH 


87 


“ If you speak to me again before this very 
disagreeable business is finished, I shall punish 
you severely ! ” Then to the two men he said 
with mock courtesy, “ Now, gentlemen, having 
heard that it would have been impossible for a 
spy to enter this house, I bow to your demands 
that it be searched. Begin, and Master Lamb 
and I will follow you for the better security of 
what I may have here that is valuable.” 

It can well be imagined that after such a speech 
the unwelcome visitors were more ill at ease 
than before, and in no condition to perform faith- 
fully the work which had been delegated them 
by the other members of the mob. 

“We are satisfied with what you have said, 
Master Dean, an’ are willin’ to go out at once,” 
one of them replied stammeringly. “ It stands 
to reason that the spy couldn’t have got in 
here.” 

“Since you have come thus far, I insist on 
your finishing the work,” the silversmith cried 
angrily. “ Turn out my wife’s presses of linen ; 
overhaul the clothing belonging to the child, and 
make certain that you take due note of what 
may be in the pantry.” 

The master of the house literally pushed his 
visitors forward, and, eager to be outside once 
more, the men began the pretense of a search 
such as would not have disclosed Lieutenant 


88 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Oakman had he been concealed only by the cur- 
tains of the room. 

Dorothy was almost speechless. Never before 
had her father spoken to her in such a tone, or 
made such a threat, and, kneeling beside one of 
the straight-backed chairs, she gave way to grief, 
while Sarah did her feeble best at consolation. 

“ He was angry because of what the men 
said, and didn’t really mean to be cross with 
you.” 

“But he was, very cross,” Dorothy sobbed, 
“ and now I can’t tell him about the old chest. 
They will find the Britisher there, and father is 
certain to be more angry with me than before. 
Oh, what shall we do, Sarah ? How I wish that 
officer hadn’t any children of his own, and then, 
perhaps, we wouldn’t have been tempted to hide 
him ! ” 

Sarah could do no more than mingle her tears 
with Dorothy’s, and the two girls mourned de- 
spairingly, but heedful in their grief to avoid any 
demonstration lest their mothers should insist on 
knowing all the cause. 

The representatives of the mob were walking 
rapidly through the house, being literally forced 
so to do by Master Dean, whose anger, because 
of what he termed an unwarranted intrusion, 
seemed to increase, rather than diminish, with 
time, and each moment the sorrowing children 


THE SEARCH 89 

expected to hear that which would betoken the 
finding of the spy. 

Nothing save the footfalls of the searchers and 
the ironical words of the silversmith could be 
heard on the inside, and without, the mob was 
waiting patiently for the report of their repre- 
sentatives, making no more of a disturbance than 
might arise from an animated conversation where- 
in half a dozen men tried to speak at the same 
time. 

It was to Dorothy and Sarah as if a full half 
hour elapsed before the searchers could be heard 
descending the stairs, although in fact the four 
men had not been absent from the living room 
more than five minutes, and Sarah whispered in 
a tone of wonderment : 

“ They’ve been in the attic, and didn’t find any- 
thing! ” 

Dorothy leaped to her feet in excitement, men- 
tally asking if it could really be possible that the 
search had been in vain. It seemed to her as if 
the first object which would have caused suspi- 
cion was the oaken chest, and even now she could 
hardly credit the fact that, for the officer in hid- 
ing, the danger had passed, at least, until Master 
Dean was made aware of his whereabouts. 

“ These gentlemen declare that they are satis- 
fied,” the silversmith announced as the searching 
party entered the living room. “ And if such be 


90 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


the fact, we will hope to be free from further out- 
rage. This way, if you please,” and he opened 
the door leading into the hall that they might 
depart. 

One of the men hesitated as if about to make 
some apology, but the expression on the ladies’ 
faces was not calculated to encourage anything 
of the kind, and he followed his comrade, being 
greeted with a loud shout as of disappointment by 
the waiting throng when the outer door was 
opened. 

Perhaps it would have been as well if Master 
Dean had allowed the mob to disperse without 
more disagreeable words from him ; but his anger 
was so great that he could not resist the tempta- 
tion to berate the people because of what he consid- 
ered a base outrage. He used the sharpest and 
most bitter epithets at his command, and when 
the harangue was come to an end the men, unable 
to make any adequate retort, left the square 
shamefacedly. 

The silversmith shut the outer door with a bang, 
locked it noisily, and entered the living room 
where Master Lamb was waiting to take his de- 
parture, it being high time that he and his family 
were at home. 

“ It has been a most trying evening for you, 
friend Jacob,” Anthony Lamb said when his host 
appeared. “ One cannot give you much blame 


THE SEARCH 


91 


for being angry ; but in these days, when the 
colony needs just such men as went to make up 
that mob, we, their leaders, must meet their law- 
lessness with a certain degree of forbearance.” 

“ If they had been moved by a spirit of patriot- 
ism, no man could bear with their insults longer 
than I ; but in this case, as I believe, the story of 
the spy was but a pretext to rob this house.” 

“A Britisher runned inter de square, suah, 
Massa Dean,” Scipio said meekly. “ I done saw 
him skinnin’ ’roun’ de corner ob dis berry house.” 

“ It was probably the man who gave them a 
chase this morning,” Master Lamb suggested. 
“ The one whom Colonel Willett recognized.” 

“ Doubtless ; but it would have been impossible 
for him to get into my house. All the doors have 
been locked ” 

Dorothy could remain silent no longer. With 
white face and trembling lips she interrupted her 
father by saying : 

« The front door was left open after Scip went 
out, sir.” 

“ I thought he locked it behind him,” and Mas- 
ter Dean looked sternly at the old servant. 

“ I done lef ’ de key on de inside, Massa ; but de 
young Missy turn’ it, kase I couldn’t git in when 
I come back.” 

“ Did you lock it, my child ? ” the silversmith 
asked. 


92 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“No, sir.” 

“ Then who did ? ” 

“ The spy, sir.” 

“ The spy ! ” Master Dean cried in bewilder- 
ment. “ What do you mean by that ? ” 

“ Only that he did it, sir, and Sarah and I 
thought all the while it was Scip, until — un- 
til ” 

“ Until what ? ” the silversmith cried excitedly, 
and the other members of the company advanced 
toward Dorothy as if fearing they might not hear 
her reply distinctly. 

“ When we saw him in the best room, sir,” the 
child said hesitatingly. 

Master Dean was breathing heavily, interlock- 
ing his fingers in the effort to preserve some sem- 
blance of calmness. Master Lamb stood with his 
hand on the silversmith’s shoulder, leaning over 
to look Dorothy in the face, while the two ladies 
appeared to be thoroughly alarmed. 

“ Well, well, you saw him in the best room? 
What then ? What then ? Speak quickly, child ! 
Can’t you see that we are being tortured by such 
suspense ? ” 

Dorothy was no longer able to continue the 
story. With the skirt of her new gown to her 
eyes she was weeping violently, and Sarah, only 
a little less agitated, answered the question. 

“Then we asked him in here, sir. He was an 


THE SEARCH 


93 


officer — Lieutenant Oakman of the Forth-fourth 
foot, he said — with children at home no older than 
us two — such a pleasant gentleman ! ” 

“ Then a British spy has actually been in this 
house, and I was telling a tissue of lies to those 
men — those honest men whom I berated as rogues ! 
And I claim to be a staunch Whig ! I am fore- 
sworn ! disgraced ! ” 

“Tut, tut, friend Dean,” Master Lamb said 
soothingly. “You spoke only as you believed, 
and surely no man can accuse you of wittingly 
telling that which is false. I do not see that any 
shadow of blame may be attached to you; but 
why did not the children explain all this at the 
outset ? ” 

“ Dorothy tried to do so, sir ; but first her 
mother wouldn’t allow it, and then Master Dean 
threatened punishment if the poor thing spoke 
again.” 

“ True, true,” the silversmith said with a groan. 
“ I remember now that she did try to have speech 
with me ; but my anger against those honest men 
whom I called rogues, was so great that I could 
not listen. Tell me, child, did the spy go out by 
the street door when he left ? ” 

“ No, sir, because he hasn’t gone yet.” 

“ Hasn’t gone ! ” Master Dean echoed, staring 
wildly first at Sarah and then at Dorothy. “ Do 
you mean to say that he — a British spy, was in 


94 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


my house while I prevented those good people 
from searching ? ” 

“ He’s in the oaken chest, sir, and I’ve got the 
key in my pocket ! ” and having made this start- 
ing announcement young Mistress Dorothy gave 
way to such a violent flood of tears that further 
speech was impossible. 



155TRC55 * DOROTMY* 6AVC * WAY 
TO*TeAfl5 







CHAPTER VI 


A DILEMMA 

Master Lamb was no less alarmed than his 
host, and well might both the gentlemen, promi- 
nent members of the Sons of Liberty, feel decidedly 
ill at ease. Their daughters were guilty of 
that offense which they had been foremost in de- 
claring was the greatest — short of absolute trea- 
son — , and the most serious against the struggling 
colonies, which could be committed. 

The situation was aggravated by the intem- 
perate words which Master Dean used when the 
citizens proposed to search his dwelling, in addi- 
tion to which, as a matter of fact, he was solely 
responsible for the half-hearted examination of 
the premises. Had he welcomed those who 
claimed that a spy was concealed within, cheerfully 
giving them every opportunity to prove the truth 
or falsity of their statements, there could be no 
question but that Lieutenant Oakman would have 
been found. 

“ And it is I, Jacob Dean, secretary of the first 
patriotic association formed in this colony, who 
95 


96 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


am guilty of doing this wicked thing ! ” the silver- 
smith cried in tones of despair as he threw him- 
self in the nearest chair, covering his face with 
his hands. 

His words alarmed Sarah and Dorothy more 
than the most harsh epithets would have done, 
and, clasped in each other’s arms, they gave way 
to loud and violent expressions of sorrow. 

Such an uproar did the children make that the 
two ladies were forced to quiet them, in order 
that the situation might be rationally discussed 
by the gentlemen, and then Master Lamb said 
with an evident effort : 

“We are equally concerned in this matter, 
friend Dean, for even though I did not say much 
to the citizens, I agreed with your angry remarks 
by remaining silent, and it would seem that my 
daughter has had nearly as much of a hand in 
this affair as yours. Let us consider it calmly.” 

“ I am not in a proper frame of mind to con- 
sider anything in a quiet manner ! I shall be 
hooted at as worse than a Tory, for the people 
will believe that while I apparently worked the 
hardest to arouse a spirit of patriotism among 
the citizens, I was secretly in sympathy and cor- 
respondence with the enemies of the colony, else 
why did the spy seek my house as a refuge ? ” 

“ He did not seek it ; the people chased him, 
and most likely he ran at random, with no other 


A DILEMMA 


97 


idea than that of remaining free from them. 
Yonr door chanced to be open, and, not even 
knowing who lived here, he darted inside.” 

“ Yes,” Master Dean wailed, “ I grant you 
that is the truth of the matter ; but the people 
will not believe it, because of my opposition to 
the search. It will be said that if I was as ardent 
for the Cause as my professions indicated, I 
would have welcomed the citizens with open 
arms, even insisting that a search be made how- 
ever positive I might be that it could result in 
nothing.” 

Master Lamb understood that his friend had 
spoken only the truth, and found it exceedingly 
difficult to suggest any plan of actioh which 
might give them a chance of escape from the 
serious dilemma into which they had been 
plunged. 

“ We must do something to avert the danger, 
for I realize fully that you and I, friend Dean, 
are standing in slippery places, even though in- 
nocent of any wrong intent.” 

“ There is but one course ! ” and the silver- 
smith sprang to his feet as if having decided upon 
immediate action. “ The spy must be delivered 
up to the authorities without delay. Where are 
my pistols, wife ? ” 

Mistress Dean went into an adjoining room 
with all speed, for of a verity she was eager to be 
7 


98 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


rid of the British officer as quickly as possible, 
and Sarah and Dorothy, having heard the an- 
nouncement, set up a most doleful cry ; but the 
latter was no longer inclined to give herself 
wholly over to grief. 

“ He will be hanged if you take him away ! ” 
she cried imploringly. 

“ Ay, my child, and richly does he deserve the 
fate, not only for plying the trade of spy, but 
because he has put honest men, like neighbor 
Lamb and myself, in such sore straits.” 

“ And he has little children at home, whom I 
am certain he loves dearly, for he kissed Sarah 
and me very tenderly.” 

“ Yet he would have done that which might 
have put our children in jeopardy,” the silver- 
smith said with a certain determined closing of 
his lips, which was familiar to his friends as a 
token that he had finally decided a perplexing 
question. 

“ But father — ” Dorothy began pleadingly, 
and her mother, returning with the weapons at 
this moment, interrupted her by saying : 

“ It is not seemly that children should dispute 
with their parents. Your father knows what is 
best, and that will be done.” 

“ Ay, I will strive to wipe the stain from my 
name,” the silversmith said as he flourished the 
pistols to the great alarm of the ladies. “ Follow 


A DILEMMA 99 

me, friend Lamb, and we will soon have the 
scoundrel out of hiding.” 

“ Have a care for your safety, father,” Mistress 
Dean said warningly. “ He must be a desperate 
fellow, and no one knows what he may attempt 
to do. Are the pistols loaded ? ” 

“ I declare I hadn’t thought of that,” and 
straightway Master Dean set about charging the 
weapons with great care. 

“ There ! ” he exclaimed in a tone of triumph 
when the task was completed, the occupants of 
the room watching him with breathless interest. 
“ I have put in charges large enough to kill an 
ox, and the Britisher won’t have much chance 
against me.” 

“ He has a pistol bigger than either of those,” 
Sarah said with a sob, whereat the silversmith 
looked dismayed ; but recovered himself an in- 
stant later to reply with a smile of content : 

“ He can’t use it to advantage while he is locked 
in the chest, and the weapon shall be delivered 
up before we open the lid very wide. Come, 
friend Lamb, we will strike our first real blow 
against the enemies of the colony.” 

Master Dean had forgotten in his eagerness, 
that Dorothy claimed to have the key of the 
chest in her pocket ; but would have advanced 
boldly, so much courage did the loaded pistols 
impart. 


L.cf C. 


100 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


Sarah’s father “hung in the wind,” as the 
saying is. Instead of following close at his host’s 
heels when the latter made a move toward the 
door leading to the rooms above, he retreated a 
few paces, as he said thoughtfully : 

“ Let us consider the matter in all its bear- 
ings, friend Dean, before taking any decisive 
steps. The spy must perforce remain where he 
is until we are ready, and a delay of an hour can 
make but little difference.” 

“ Is there anything we can do but deliver him 
over to the rightful authorities ? ” the silversmith 
asked irritably. 

“ It surely seems as if that must be done ; but 
first let us consider how we will stand with the 
public by so doing. The citizens were here, 
declaring that the spy was on the premises. You 
much the same as refused to admit them. Two 
hours later you walk into the headquarters of 
the army, with a prisoner whom you captured 
while he was hiding in your house. Now my 
question is this : Will the people who were here 
believe that you knew nothing regarding his 
whereabouts at the time you so stated to them, 
or will they claim that you wanted all the praise, 
and all the reward, for bringing in the Britisher ? 
These be perilous times, friend Dean ; the enemy 
will probably be in possession of the city very 
soon, for Howe has force enough to crush our 


A DILEMMA 


101 


army, and it behooves us to stand well with the 
public if we would save our own skins and 
property.” 

The worthy silversmith sank back on a chair 
moaning. 

“Have you any proposition to make?” he 
asked after a long time of silence. 

“ You know better than I what should be 
done ; but as it appears to me, we are both equally 
in a way to be blamed regarding this matter, 
and I surely have the right to question concern- 
ing the possible outcome of our movements.” 

“ Oh, I wish the villain was out of this house ! ” 
Mistress Dean cried nervously. 

“ I could echo that wish, wife, if it might be 
done without my knowledge,” the silversmith 
said fervently. “Why couldn’t he have had 
sense enough to make his escape by one of the 
back windows before I arrived ? ” 

“ Since you are simply indulging in wishes, it 
would be as well to pray that he had never come, 
or, to go still further afield, that our wives had 
not sent the children here,” Master Lamb replied, 
smiling sadly. 

“ Are we to be blamed because a spy sought 
refuge in this house, taking advantage of an open 
door ? ” Mistress Lamb cried shrilly, and straight- 
way her husband set about soothing her, while 
Master Dean remained in an attitude of despair, 


102 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


turning over in his mind, without arriving at 
any satisfactory conclusion, the perplexing ques- 
tion as to how he might do his duty by the 
colony, and at the same time continue to stand 
before the people as a sincere patriot and their 
friend. 

Little Mistress Dorothy was the only person 
in the room who appeared to have a clear idea 
of what should be done, and it seemed to her 
that the words of both father and mother had 
given her a clue to what she ought to do. 

Her father had said distinctly that he wished 
the officer was well out of the house, if it could 
be accomplished without his knowledge, and it 
appeared to the child as if he laid a direct com- 
mand upon her. At that very moment the key 
of the chest was in the pocket of her gown. The 
older members of the party were so deeply en- 
grossed with the trouble which had come upon 
them, that apparently no attention was paid to the 
children, and Dorothy believed her duty was plain. 

Beckoning to Sarah, who was standing near 
her mother’s chair, the girl went softly into the 
kitchen, giving no heed to the darkness because 
of the weighty subject of her thoughts. 

Sarah obeyed the signal, and old Scip, who had 
been standing in one corner very ill at ease, 
welcomed an opportunity to escape by following 
the children. 


A DILEMMA 


103 


“ Why did you come ? ” Dorothy asked sharply 
of the old servant as he closed the door behind 
him. 

“ Why, honey, does yer ’spect dare’s much enji- 
ment in standin’ ’roun’ dat ’ere room on one leg 
like er ole goose, ’lowin’ ebery minute dat some- 
body’s gwin to fall erfoul ob yer? ” 

“ But we don’t want you here.” 

“ Now, little Missy, yo’ won’ go fur ter turn de 
ole man off when he’s got more trubble dan he 
can stan’ under. I’se suah gwine ter get er 
floggin’ fur leabin’ de door open, an’ I ain’t sartin 
Massa Dean won’ shoot me, kase he’s powerful 
mad.” 

Dorothy knew from long experience that Scip 
would argue the matter with her half an hour or 
more, provided she did not appeal to her parents 
meanwhile, and it had suddenly come into her 
mind that she might need assistance if the officer 
was to escape out of a back window, as her father 
had evidently suggested. 

“ Scip, will you cross your throat — and that’s 
a terrible oath you know — not to tell if I let you 
help me, and show how we can arrange every- 
thing to please father ? ” 

“ Suah I will,” and the old darkey went through 
the form of crossing his throat, with great so- 
lemnity. 

“ Didn’t you hear mother say she wished the 


104 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


lieutenant was out of the house ? ” Dorothy asked 
earnestly. 

“ I did fur certain, honey.” 

“And you heard father say he wished the 
lieutenant had made his escape by one of the 
back windows before he got home from Bowling 
Green ? ” 

“ I heard all dat, chile, an’ it’s ’er fac’ ! ” 

“ Then we must let him escape ! When he 
has gone the whole matter will be settled as 
father wants it, and nobody can blame him.” 

“ I ’clar to goodness, honey, but you’se got it 
right down fine. Chuck de ossifer out, an’ de 
scrimmage am ober ; kase why ? Kase dere ain’t 
any mo’ Massa Spy fur ter worry ’bout ! ” 

A sigh of relief escaped from Sarah’s lips. 
This way out of the difficulty seemed so simple 
and pleasant that she wondered why it had not 
occurred to her before. 

“What window can he get through?” she 
asked eagerly, and Dorothy replied promptly : 

“ The one in my room looks out over the shed. 
If we had a piece of rope ” 

“ I’se got yo’ dere, honey. I strung a line fur 
Missus day befo’ yesterday, an’ I’ll fetch it in er 
shake.” 

He unbolted the outer door of the kitchen 
softly, and without waiting for any word of as- 
sent from Dorothy, disappeared in the darkness. 


A DILEMMA 


105 


“ It’s more work to get rid of the officer than it 
was to find him,” Sarah said with a sigh, and 
added as if for her own encouragement, “But 
there ain’t so much about it to make us afraid.” 

“ How glad father will be when he knows we’ve 
done exactly as he wanted us to.” Dorothy said 
half to herself, for she had given no attention to 
Sarah’s remark, so full was her mind of repairing 
the mischief which had been wrought through 
her. 

“ Here’s des de figger,” Scip whispered as he 
re-entered the kitchen, holding a long length of 
clothes-line. “ Dis yere’s gwin ter do de business 
for de Britisher ! ” 

“ Come up-stairs at once, or father will be 
angry because we are so slow,” Dorothy said, and 
there was no thought in her mind but that she 
was doing exactly that which her parents had 
virtually commanded. 

Softly, but rapidly, Dorothy led the way, Sarah 
following immediately behind, and Scipio bring- 
ing up the rear. Not until arriving in the attic 
did she halt, and then it was that she might 
whisper cautiously : 

“ I’d better speak to him first, for the poor dear 
spy might be frightened and fire off his pistol at 
us, if he didn’t know who was here.” 

“ Don’ fool away de time wid talkin’,” the old 
darkey said nervously. “ Dis yere ain’t any place 


106 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


fur story-tellin’, an’ I’se ’spectin’ to see er whole 
drove ob ghosts flickerin’ ’roun’ afore long.” 

Sarah trembled. Until this moment she had 
given no heed to the fact that they were in the 
darkness ; but now a great fear began to creep 
over her. 

Dorothy was not disposed to linger, for she be- 
lieved her father was anxious that the work be 
done quickly, and, kneeling by the side of the 
chest, which was found after much groping 
around, she whispered loudly : 

“ Master Oakman, it is me — Dorothy. Sarah 
is here too, and Scip has come with the clothes- 
line. Do you hear me ? ” 

“ Yes, child,” came in a muffled tone from the 
inside of the chest. 

“ Shall I open the lid ? ” 

“ Certainly.” 

Dorothy pushed into the lock the key she had 
been holding in her hand since the moment of 
receiving her father’s supposed commands, and 
when it was possible the lieutenant sat upright. 

“What shall I do?” he asked, and Dorothy 
replied : 

“ Father is terribly fussed because you are here, 
and wants you to escape. If we let you out of 
the back window can you get to your soldiers ? ” 

“ Is the house surrounded by those who chased 
me here ? ” 


A DILEMMA 


107 


“Dey’s done gone flowed away, sah,” Scip 
hastened to say. “ When Massa Dean raked ’em 
fore an’ aft wid hard words, dey was mighty glad 
fur ter sneak off sudden-like.” 

“ And Master Dean, the silversmith, one of the 
most rabid rebels in New York, is willing I shall 
escape ? ” Lieutenant Oakman said half to him- 
self, finding it very difficult to understand such a 
condition of affairs. 

“ He done laid de blame on you fur not run- 
nin’ afore he got back,” Scip replied readily, and 
Dorothy added : 

“Both he and mother will feel better when 
you are out of the house.” 

“ I can readily fancy that ; but I supposed the 
only way they would be willing to rid themselves 
of me was by sending for the military authori- 
ties, and allowing them to attend to the case.” 

“ But this is much the best way, sir.” 

“ Indeed it is, my dear, according to my think- 
ing ; but that Jacob Dean should be of the same 
opinion surprises me greatly. What said Master 
Anthony Lamb to my being allowed to escape ? ” 

“ He held his peace, sir,” Sarah replied ; “ but 
it is certain he agrees with Master Dean in every- 
thing.” 

“ You should not stay here talking, sir, for the 
sooner you are with my lord Howe, the more 
sure will you be of seeing your children again,” 


108 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


Dorothy said gravely. “ Can you get away from 
the city, sir ? ” 

“ Unless those who chased me are in the im- 
mediate vicinity. A boat should be waiting for 
me at a certain point on the river ; the time set 
for its arrival was midnight,” Lieutenant Oak- 
man replied carelessly, so overwhelmed by the 
supposed fact that Masters Dean and Lamb would 
agree to his escape as to give little heed to any- 
thing else. 

“ Will you follow us, sir, and please do not 
make any noise ? ” Dorothy whispered as she took 
him by the hand, and Scip, eager to be out of such 
a promising place for ghosts as was the attic, 
urged the little company on so rapidly that there 
was danger all would fall headlong down the 
steep stairs. 

At a rear window on the next floor, in the room 
where she usually slept, Dorothy halted, and the 
old darkey raised the sash as he gave the spy one 
end of the clothes-line. 

“ Take hoi’ ob dat, sah, an’ I’se gwine fur ter 
let yo’ down han’ ober han’.” 

“ What is below ? ” 

“ De shed, sah ; but it ain’t more’n six feet 
high. Des slide down de roof.” 

Lieutenant Oakman threw one leg over the 
window-sill, and then stopped to say a parting 
word : 


A DILEMMA 


109 


“My dear little maids,” and he took Dorothy 
and Sarah by the hands, “you saved my life 
when the majority of the good people in this 
city would have enjoyed seeing me hanged 
by the neck. My own dear girls shall know, 
if I live to see them again, that two little 
ladies, out of the kindness of their dear hearts, 
made possible the meeting between us, and every 
night they shall pray to the good God that He 
will ever have you in His holy keeping. As for 
myself, I hope it may be my good fortune, when 
the war cloud has blown away, to show how 
deeply I hold myself in your debt. Will you 
kiss me, my dears ? ” 

With his arms around their necks he leaned 
over and pressed his lips to theirs, whispering a 
“ God bless you ” as he did so. 

“You won’t come back and try to do the 
people any harm through what you have spied 
out, will you ? ” Dorothy asked pleadingly. 

“ My little Mistress Dean, let me tell you this 
for your peace of mind, and that your father may 
not repent having shown mercy when an enemy 
was in his power : I have learned nothing that 
was not already known to General Howe. An 
American officer recognized me when I would 
have entered Fraunce’s tavern, and since that time 
I have had my hands full with trying to keep 
clear of the mob. I shall be obliged to come 


110 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


here with my regiment, for I have sworn to do 
my duty by his majesty ; but never more as a 
spy, and, it may be, that when the king’s troops 
are quartered in New York, as speedily they will 
be, I can make some friendly return to your 
father for this night’s work.” 

Having thus spoken he swung himself clear of 
the window-ledge ; Scip braced himself to hold 
the strain on the rope to the end that it might 
not slip through his hands too quickly, and 
Lieutenant Fitzroy Oakman, of his majesty’s 
Forty-fourth foot, was lowered gently to the roof 
of the shed. 

Once there he stood erect for an instant to 
wave adieu to Dorothy and Sarah, and as they 
leaned far out over the sill, the little maids saw 
him leap lightly to the ground, where he was 
speedly swallowed up by the shadows. 

“ I’se done gwine ter put dis yere line whar 
I foun’ it,” Scip said as he carefully reeled in the 
rope, and Dorothy, thinking only of the pleasing 
fact that her spy had at least one more chance 
for life, embraced Sarah fervently. 

“ How glad everybody will be now that he has 
gone without making any trouble!” she ex- 
claimed. 

“ Are you going to tell at once what we have 
done ? ” Sarah asked. 

“ There will be no need of our speaking, for 


A DILEMMA 


111 


when we went out of the room both father and 
mother must have known that we would do as 
they wished. I’ll just look into the living room 
so they may understand it’s all over, and then 
we’ll sit in the kitchen until you are ready to go 
home. Scip shall light a candle, and it will be 
real cosy there.” 

While speaking Dorothy was leading the way 
down-stairs, arriving at the lower floor just as 
Scip, having replaced the clothes-line, entered 
the room. 

“ I ’spects dat yere job am been done proper,” 
he said in a tone of satisfaction. “ De Britisher 
am gone widout trubblin’ yer folks, an’ we’se 
cornin’ out’er de scrape a heap sight better dan I 
reckoned on one spell.” 

Then the old darkey, in obedience to Dorothy’s 
request, set about striking a spark from the flint 
to the cotton, and while he was thus engaged, 
for the task sometimes proved a long one, the oc- 
cupants of the kitchen were startled by hearing 
the hum of many voices from the square. 

“ Oh dear, can it be that those wicked men 
have caught our spy ? ” Dorothy cried in alarm ; 
but old Scip quickly reassured her. 

“Ef dey’d gone cotched de Britisher, honey, 
you wouldn’t be hearin’ any sich littly noise as 
dat; but it would be a great big yellin’ an’ 
screechin’ fit to kill.” 


112 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


Before young Mistress Lamb could speak again, 
a voice cried loudly, as some one pounded 
vigorously on the outer door : 

“We have come for one more search, Master 
Dean, an’ it behooves you to give us speedy en- 
try, without so many harsh words as we were 
treated to before ! ” 

“We did the work for father just in time ! ” 
Dorothy said triumphantly, as she opened the 
door leading to the living room. 


CHAPTER VII 


MASTER DEAN - S BEWILDERMENT 

The children entered the living room at the 
exact moment when Master Dean, welcoming 
this second visit of the citizens as an opportunity 
for him to extricate himself from the dilemma in 
which Dorothy and Sarah had placed him, sprang 
from his chair to give the new-comers admission. 

Master Lamb, who it must be confessed was 
quicker to grasp all the details of a newly pre- 
sented situation, ran after him, catching the 
silversmith by the coat-sleeve with a clutch suffi- 
cient to detain him against his will, and said 
hurriedly, speaking in a low tone as if fearful that 
those on the outside might hear him : 

“ Now is the time to be cautious, friend Dean. 
Let Scip open the door.” 

“ To what end ? ” the silversmith asked irri- 
tably, trying in vain to release himself from his 
friend’s hold. “ It is my purpose to explain im- 
mediately what we have learned, and lead these 
good people to where the spy is hidden.” 

“And thus rush into the same mistake you 
were so eager to avoid ? Many of them would 
8 113 


114 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


believe that you had given up the Britisher on 
this second visit only because you were afraid ; 
but that it was your original intention to have 
set him at liberty.” 

“Open the door! We demand admission in 
the name of the United Colonies ! ”a peremptory 
voice cried from the outside, and Master Lamb 
said sharply to Scipio : 

“ Obey the summons at once ; but spend a few 
moments in pretending that it is difficult to turn 
the key.” 

“ What would you do now ? ” the silversmith 
asked angrily. “ The mischief may be repaired if 
we do not provoke them. It is evident that the 
citizens who are waiting have received encourage- 
ment from one high in authority, otherwise they 
would not dare present themselves here a second 
time, and we must explain all.” 

“Why?” 

Master Dean looked at his friend in amazement. 

“ Is it possible, Anthony Lamb, that you have 
not had trouble enough this evening, but would 
delay the explanation which must be made ? ” 

“ To my mind there is no necessity for you or 
me to do anything. These good people have 
saved us the trouble. Let them come in. Pro- 
vide them with candles with which to make the 
search, and, in fact, throw your house open freely. 
The spy will be found, and then it can be said 


MASTER DEAN'S BEWILDERMENT H5 


that he must have come in while you and your 
wife was absent — which is the exact truth ; that 
you knew nothing of his whereabouts when you 
spoke so harshly — which is again the truth. 
It is a much better story to go before the citizens 
of New York than the one you would tell, if all 
the details were given.” 

“ What is the matter ? ” some one on the out- 
side asked, as Scip vainly tried to turn back the 
bolt. 

“ Dis yere lock am rusted, an’ it takes a pow’ful 
long time to work de key. Here she am now ! ” 
and Scipio threw open the door with the same 
flourish he would have used while ushering in 
his master’s best friends. 

Now was the moment when Dorothy believed 
her father’s mind should be relieved of its bur- 
den, and as Master Lamb relaxed his hold on the 
coat-sleeve, she ran forward. 

“ Father, I have done ” 

“ Again I command you, Dorothy, to hold your 
peace!” Master Dean cried angrily. “Surely 
we have suffered enough already because of your 
forwardness. Go into the kitchen, and take 
Sarah with you. Remain there until your 
mother calls.” 

“ But father ” 

“Not another word!” and the silversmith 
literally pushed his daughter toward the rear 


116 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


room, Sarah following close at her heels, with 
Scipio trailing on behind, eager to be beyond 
reach either of his master’s hand or voice. 

“ Why wouldn’t your father let you tell him 
what we had done ? ” Sarah asked when the 
three were in the kitchen alone, and the fore- 
most of the visitors were trooping into the living 
room with the air of people who have both might 
and right on their side. 

“I’m sure I can’t tell. He was real angry, 
too ! ” and Dorothy choked back a sob, realizing 
that she had cried quite enough for one evening. 

It was Scipio who understood the situation, or 
believed he did, and to the girls he gave the fol- 
lowing explanation of his master’s odd behavior : 

“ It am des like dis, chillun. Massa don’ wan’ ter 
know anything ’bout it till dis yere rumpus am 
all ober, kase dat’s wha’ Massa Lamb ’lows ought’er 
be did. Ef you’se up an’ tole him de whole story, 
he’d be ’bleeged fur ter scriggle out’er it, an’ dat 
would be mighty hard ’less he done tole a lie.” 

This seemed to be a very plausible explanation 
of the situation, and Dorothy no longer believed 
her father had used her harshly when she was 
pushed from the room. 

The two girls would have been content to re- 
main in the kitchen with the door closed, talking 
about the chances their spy had for escape ; but 
the old darkey was not of the same mind. He 


MASTER DEAN'S BEWILDERMENT 117 


wanted to hear and see all that was going on, 
provided it could be done while he was out of his 
master’s sight, and to this end he pushed the door 
open ever so little, which enabled the three to be 
unseen spectators of the scene. 

“We have come to make a thorough search of 
this house, Master Dean,” the leader of the mob 
said curtly, without showing the ordinary respect 
to which the silversmith’s position in the com- 
munity entitled him. “We are not satisfied with 
what was done here a short time ago, an’ there 
are others in the city of the same mind. Harsh 
words won’t drive us away, and if you stand on 
such high ground as when we were here last, an 
appeal will be made to the military authorities.” 

“ You have no need to assume any such air with 
me,” Master Dean said sharply, for the manner 
and tone of the speaker aroused his ire. “ I am 
free to admit, as Master Lamb claims, that I spoke 
intemperately to you before ; but at the time it 
seemed as if the situation demanded it. My house 
had been closed; all my family, including old 
Scip, must have been at Bowling Green when you 
started in chase of the spy. You had the building 
surrounded in such manner that a man could not 
have escaped, when I arrived, and yet it was your 
purpose to break down my door.” 

“ Perhaps we were a little too free-spoken, 
Master Dean,” the man said in conciliatory tone, 


118 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“ and for that you should make allowance, know- 
ing the excitement of the moment.” 

Here Master Lamb interposed. 

“ There has been no show of a spy since friend 
Dean and I came into the house, and, thus, the 
situation is the same as during your first visit. 
Both sides are willing to admit that words were 
used which had better have been left unsaid, there- 
fore what is to prevent your company from mak- 
ing a search now, examining carefully every por- 
tion of the house ; but having due regard to care 
lest anything be injured ? ” 

“ That is my idea,” the silversmith added, wip- 
ing the perspiration from his forehead which had 
been brought out by mental anxiety rather than 
heat. “ I hope most fervently you may find that 
for which you seek, even though it be in my house, 
and all of you know full well that if I discovered 
a British spy on these premises, or anywhere else, 
I would hale him before the officers of the law 
without delay.” 

“ True for you, Master Dean ! ” some one in the 
front hall shouted, for by this time the crowd ex- 
tended, in a densely packed mass, from the living 
room to the street. 

“We know you for a true patriot,” another 
cried, “ and never meant to suggest that you would 
harbor the enemies of your country, let alone a 
dirty spy ! ” 


MASTER DEAN'S BEWILDERMENT 119 

“ Before you begin, let men be placed inside the 
house, one at each door and window, so there may 
be no possibility of escape if you run your game to 
earth,” Master Dean said. “ Then go to work sys- 
tematically and search every nook and corner ; 
but remember that housewives are particular as 
to how their belongings are tumbled about.” 

By this time the visitors were in a good humor, 
and Master Lamb drew a long breath of relief, 
believing that Lieutenant Oakman would speedily 
be captured, and in such a manner that no blame 
could attach to his friend or himself. 

“ It is a very comfortable way out of what pro- 
mised to be a disagreeable situation,” he whispered 
to the silversmith while the sentinels were being 
posted. “ They will find the fellow in the chest, 
and no one can suspect, after your caution as to 
the thoroughness of the search, that we had any 
knowledge of his presence.” 

“ You are right, friend Lamb. I only wish I 
had as cool a head and as quick a wit as you.” 

“ Dere ! ” Scipio exclaimed triumphantly to 
the girls. “ Now you’se kin see why Massa didn’t 
want you to tell him what we’d been doin’ ob ! 
Course he knows wha’ we’d done ; but so long 
as yo’ didn’t splain de whole ting, he could ’pear 
mighty innercent like.” 

“ How fortunate it was that I paid particular 
attention to what he and mother said, else things 


120 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


wouldn’t be as they are now,” Dorothy added in 
a tone of content, and thus it was that when the 
real search for the spy began, every one con- 
cerned felt in the best of humor. 

Masters Dean and Lamb, with their wives, re- 
mained in the living room while the mob liter- 
ally took possession of the house, and Dorothy’s 
mother was in a state of mind bordering on ter- 
ror, lest the dwelling should be set on fire, for 
the men had provided themselves with a plenti- 
ful supply of candles before making this second 
visit, and thirty or more, lighted and dripping 
tallow, were being carried through the different 
apartments. 

The children and Scip listened intently to the 
remarks of the searchers as they failed in finding 
anything, and it is possible the attic would have 
been passed unheeded, had not Sarah taken it 
upon herself to cry to her father through the 
partially open door : 

“They are not going any further than the 
second floor, sir.” 

The two gentlemen, eager that the search 
should be ended by the finding of the spy, went 
to the stairway, and Master Dean called out 
loudly : 

“ Have you looked in the attic ? ” 

“How do you get there?” some one asked. 
“ I allowed we’d seen the whole house.” 


MASTER DEAN’S BEWILDERMENT 121 


44 There is a narrow door near the main chim- 
ney, which is sometimes covered by a chest of 
drawers,” the silversmith replied. 

44 Come up here and show it to us ! ” 

Master Dean obeyed the command, his friend 
Lamb following, and Scip whispered to Dorothy : 

44 1’se nigh erbout crazy fur ter see dat crowd 
when dey fin’ dere’s nobody here. We might 
sneak up de back stairs, honey,” he suggested 
coaxingly, and, despite the fact that she had been 
told to remain in the kitchen, Dorothy motioned 
for him to lead the way. 

It was impossible for either the girls or Scipio 
to ascend the attic stairs until after the searchers 
had scattered around in the unfinished lumber 
room ; but the picture they then saw was well 
calculated to provoke mirth, in the secret of the 
escape as they were. 

The oaken chest was empty, the lid thrown 
back and the key in the lock. Directly in front 
of it stood Masters Dean and Lamb, gazing al- 
ternately at each other and the place where they 
had supposed the spy to be securely hidden, with 
an expression of perfect bewilderment on their 
faces. 

One not acquainted with the facts would have 
said that the two gentlemen were both terrified 
and fascinated by the open box, wherein could 
be seen no sign of its recent occupancy. 


122 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


In different parts of the attic the men were 
making most thorough search, overturning this 
barrel or emptying out the contents of that box 
with utter disregard of Mistress Dean’s wishes, 
as might have been expected under the circum- 
stances. 

The boards of the floor had not been nailed 
down, and many of these were taken up that a 
view between the timbers might be had, although 
it was impossible even a child could have ven- 
tured on to the laths and plaster without break- 
ing through into the apartment below. 

Not a single hiding-place which might have 
screened from view a cat, was left unsearched, 
and at the end of half an hour the leader of the 
party said to Master Dean, who was yet standing 
in front of the chest as if petrified : 

“ I’ll go bail that there’s no spy in this house, 
unless he’s a mighty small one. We’ll have a 
look at the cellar, and when that has been done 
we can testify to what is a fact : That you were 
right in saying it was impossible a Britisher 
could have got in while you and your family 
were absent.” 

The worthy silversmith was in such a state of 
bewilderment that he gave no heed to the flaring, 
flickering candles which were held recklessly by 
their bearers at imminent risk of igniting the in- 
flammable articles with which the attic was well- 


MASTER DEAN’S BEWILDERMENT 123 


nigh filled ; hut meekly led the way down-stairs, 
the girls and Scipio following, after the men had 
disappeared. 

Once more in the kitchen, Dorothy and Sarah 
could hear the uninvited guests rummaging 
around in the cellar, and again they congratu- 
lated themselves with having been so quick to 
understand what it was Master Dean would have 
them do. 

Scipio was in the highest possible state of de- 
light at the very satisfactory manner in which 
his master had been extricated from what had 
seemed like a serious dilemma. The old darkey 
danced to and fro as if he could not remain quiet, 
and chuckled and laughed until Dorothy sternly 
bade him be silent, fearing lest the searchers 
might hear his demonstrations of joy, and become 
suspicious. 

At the end of a full hour the mission of the 
citizens had come to an end to their entire satis- 
faction, and the bewilderment of Masters Dean 
and Lamb. 

The children in the kitchen heard the spokes- 
man say as he and his followers made ready to 
take their departure : 

“ We are sorry to have made extra work for 
Mistress Dean, by so overhauling things ; but 
glad for your sake that it has been done, for 
otherwise the people would never have been 


124 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


satisfied, despite the fact that you have been an 
earnest worker in the Cause, that a Britisher was 
not in this house to-night. Now we have ample 
proof to the contrary, and the same shall be made 
known wherever words of suspicion have been 
spoken.” 

To this speech the silversmith could make no 
reply ; he was yet in such a state of bewilder- 
ment as to be incapable of connected thought, 
and Master Lamb addressed the citizens in his 
behalf, thanking them for the friendly words, at 
the same time recalling to mind, as proof that he 
would not knowingly give aid to an enemy, all 
that Master Dean had done in behalf of the 
colony as against the king. 

Then the last of the searchers departed; 
Scipio was called to lock the street door, and the 
two gentlemen sat down to consider the mystery. 

Dorothy and Sarah were summoned from the 
kitchen, even before anything concerning the 
escape had been said to the ladies, and Master 
Dean questioned his daughter. 

“ Did you tell me that the spy was hidden in 
the oaken chest ? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ And that he was likely to remain there ? ” 

“Yes, sir, for he couldn’t get out, because I 
had the key.” 

“What is the meaning of these questions?” 


MASTER DEAN'S BEWILDERMENT 125 


Mistress Lamb asked sharply, “ and why did the 
citizens fail to find the Britisher ? ” 

“ That last is exactly what we are trying to 
find out, madam,” the silversmith replied, and, 
turning to his daughter once more, he asked, 
“ Did you have the key when you told me where 
he was ? ” 

“ Certainly, sir.” 

“ Then ' how did he escape ? ” Master Lamb 
cried, looking around in amazement. 

“ Why, we let him out of the back window, as 
Master Dean said should be done,” Sarah replied 
quickly, whereat the elder members of the party 
gazed at her in surprise and bewilderment, 
neither apparently able to speak. 

“We let him go as soon as you and mother 
said it was to be done,” Dorothy added trium- 
phantly, “ and it was well we set about it at once, 
for he had just left when the citizens came.” 

“ Do you mean to say that I told you to set 
him free ? ” Master Dean literally screamed, and 
Dorothy replied in a matter-of-fact tone : 

“ Yes, sir ; didn’t he, Sarah ? ” 

Then Master Lamb’s daughter nodded in the 
affirmative, and the bewilderment of the elderly 
people was merged into stupefaction. 

It was Master Lamb who first “gathered him- 
self together” sufficiently to speak, and, striding 
across the room, he cried : 


126 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


“ And I assured those worthy citizens that no 
one had left this house, while at the same time 
my own daughter had hut just finished the work 
of aiding that most dastardly of enemies — a spy ! 
It is shameful ! Monstrous ! ” 

“ We thought you knew all about it, sir, else 
why did you prevent us from telling what had 
been done ? ” Sarah said as she crept more closely 
to Dorothy’s side. 

“ Wait,” the silversmith commanded. “ Let us 
understand the situation first. Dorothy, explain 
to me when I or your mother told you to set the 
Britisher free ? ” 

The child repeated the conversation which had 
been so misleading, and Scipio plucked up suffi- 
cient courage to corroborate her statement by say- 
ing emphatically : 

“ All dat am gospil trufe, Massa Dean, kase I 
done beared de berry same talk, else why does 
yo’ s’pose I’d been sliinnyin’ ’roun’ wid de clothes- 
line fur?” 

“ Hold your tongue, you black scoundrel ! ” and 
it really seemed as if the silversmith was bene- 
fited by giving way to his anger. “I should 
have known that you had some hand in the mat- 
ter. Get into the kitchen where you belong, and 
I will settle this affair with you when I have more 
time ! ” 

Poor old Scip went out of the room looking 


MASTER DEAN’S BEWILDERMENT 127 

thoroughly perplexed. He had entered expect- 
ing to be praised for his portion of the work, in- 
stead of which he was driven out with threats. 

“ Dem Sons ob Liberty am mighty queer folks,” 
he muttered softly as he obeyed the command of 
his master, and when he disappeared Mistress 
Dean said with a sigh : 

“ It is all very terrible ; but I do remember say- 
ing that which Dorothy repeated, and I know, 
Jacob, that you wouldn’t let the child speak when 
the visitors first came.” 

“ I supposed, madam, that she had an ordinary 
amount of common sense, and could distinguish 
between an idle remark and a positive command. 
Master Lamb and I are ruined and disgraced 
forever ! ” 

Then the silversmith sought relief by pacing 
the floor just in the rear of his friend, and if the 
situation had not been so grave it would have 
been comical. 

Not until the night was nearly spent did either 
of the gentlemen see any ray of hope in the black 
cloud which enveloped them, and meanwhile the 
children crouched by their mothers’ knees in 
mute suspense; finding no little consolation in 
the knowledge that the very kindly officer who 
had children of his own in England would not be 
hanged for spying where nothing of importance 
could be learned. 


128 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


It was Master Lamb who first saw a glimmer 
of light in the cloud, and he cried suddenly, as if 
such a possibility had never before occurred to 
him : 

“ After all, friend Dean, we are the only persons, 
with the exception of the spy himself, who knows 
what has been done. The citizens must believe 
that those who chased the Britisher were mis- 
taken in the supposition that he entered this house, 
and if we hold our peace no one will be the wiser.” 

The silversmith stared at his friend as if unable 
to understand all that had been said, and then he 
cried : 

“ But we know that because of us an enemy 
has escaped ! ” 

“Yet not by our desire or intention, for we 
were decided to give him up, although as to how 
it might safely be done was not agreed upon. It 
has all been the work of the girls, and that stupid 
black man. Your task shall be to make certain 
he holds his tongue, and the whole affair is as 
clear as the sun.” 

Master Dean persisted for some time in believ- 
ing that he and his neighbor were culpable, and de- 
clared that he would never again be able to look 
his fellow patriots in the face; but when the 
ladies joined with Master Lamb, he finally took a 
less despairing view of the affair. 

It was now so near morning that Mistress Dean 


MASTER DEAN’S BEWILDERMENT 129 

proposed their guests remain until after breakfast, 
and straightway this invitation was accepted the 
children were sent to bed, to their mutual de- 
light. 

When Lieutenant Oakman’s young friends were 
snugly tucked up in the lavender-scented sheets, 
Sarah whispered : 

“Do you think we did such a very wicked 
thing, when we let that poor, dear spy climb out 
of the window ? ” and Dorothy replied emphati- 
cally. 

“ It would have been wicked if we had let him 
stay there to be hanged ! Of course we wouldn’t 
have dared to do such a thing if it hadn’t been 
for what father and mother said, and I’m glad we 
made a mistake ! ” 

“ Do you believe Scip will be flogged ? ” 

“ Of course he won’t. Father was angry when 
he sent him into the kitchen, and to-morrow 
morning Scip will get a good scolding, but noth- 
ing more.” 

“ And do you suppose the officer got away ? ” 

“ If he hadn’t, those men who came here would 
have known, and told about it. He must be on 
Staten Island by this time, wondering how it 
happened that two Sons of Liberty were willing 
to let him go free.” 

9 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE CONFLAGRATION 

When the two girls awakened next morning 
they had a very well-defined idea that the part 
played by them during the previous night would 
serve as a text for a severe lecture, and neither 
felt inclined to descend the stairs to the living 
room. 

“Your father and mine will scold, I expect,” 
Dorothy said with a sigh, as she halted near the 
kitchen door, “ and then our mothers are almost 
certain to blame us, therefore this won’t be a very 
pleasant day.” 

But young Mistress Dean was happily mis- 
taken, for stirring news came so thick and fast 
that the gentlemen could spend no time on two 
children, however much the latter were at fault. 

First, one of the neighbors came in while the 
family and the guests were at breakfast, to say 
that the statue of King George which had been 
pulled down the evening previous, was at that 
moment being carried into Connecticut on an ox 
cart, and the citizens had decided it should be 
melted into bullets for the use of the American 
130 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


131 


army. That Master Oliver Wolcott had been 
given charge of the transportation and transfor- 
mation, was sufficient guarantee the work would 
be done without loss of time. 

Hardly had this information been given, when 
a messenger from the president of the Sons of 
Liberty arrived, with orders for Masters Dean 
and Lamb to join their associates at the regular 
meeting place, to the end that all, or as many as 
could be spared from their business, should take 
coaches for White Plains, where the Provincial 
Congress was assembled, because on this same 
afternoon the Declaration would be read to the 
members of that body for their approval. 

Although the Congress at Philadelphia had 
adopted the resolutions of independence, it was 
necessary that the legislative body of each colony 
should pass upon it, and the members of the as- 
sociation to which Masters Dean and Lamb be- 
longed, were determined that the law-makers of 
New York should be emphatic in their expres- 
sions of sympathy with the sentiments contained 
therein. 

Mistress Lamb and Sarah remained guests in 
the Dean household until the maker of mathe- 
matical instruments returned to his home, and 
the ladies had but little time to reprove the girls 
for what had been done in aid of the spy, since 
all the women of the neighborhood called to sym- 


132 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


pathize with Mistress Dean because of the inva- 
sion by the mob. 

Next day, when Sarah’s father was ready to 
take her home, the children learned that the 
Provincial Congress at White Plains had listened 
to the reading of the Declaration with great in- 
terest, and, at the close pledged themselves to 
“ sustain it at the risk of their lives and fortunes.” 

This pledge was proclaimed in White Plains 
by the beating of drums, and the members of the 
Congress ordered that the Declaration should be 
publicly read from the steps of the City Hall * 
in New York. 

On the day following, which is to say on the 
twelfth of July, the frigates Rose and the 
Phoenix, from my lord Howe’s fleet, sailed boldly 
up to the city, firing into the town and being fired 
upon as they entered the Hudson and anchored a 
a short distance above the town, to the alarm of 
all patriots and the joy of the Tories. 

With so much of import happening, and the 
knowledge that the king’s troops would soon 
make an attack, it is little wonder that the adven- 
ture with the spy was so nearly forgotten by the 
heads of the two families concerned, as hardly to 
be mentioned ; but the girls spent many hours talk- 
ing over the events of that evening, and wonder- 
ing whether Lieutenant Oakman had any diffi- 

* Then on Wall street. 


THE CONFLAGRATION 133 

culty in finding the boat which he believed would 
be in waiting for him. 

Then came the day of the second celebration of 
the adoption of the Declaration, which is to say, 
the eighteenth of July, and despite the disagree- 
able ending, so far as concerned the Dean and 
Lamb families, of the first celebration, it was re- 
solved that the ladies, with the children, should 
be present. 

The new costumes which Dorothy and Sarah 
had worn, much to the detriment of the garments, 
were cleansed, in so far as was possible, and while 
the girls did not present quite so brave an ap- 
pearance as before, they were fully conscious of 
being well and becomingly dressed. 

Of that day it has been written : # 

“ The public reading of the Declaration in New 
York, on July 18th, was one of the great events 
of the day. Almost the whole city came together 
and received each noble sentiment with resound- 
ing cheers, and on its conclusion a few daring 
spirits entered the court-room, brought out the 
royal coat of arms, and burned it in the street. 
All this was done, it must be remembered, in the 
face of a powerful enemy, for at that moment 
Putnam’s vedettes might have counted, from their 
post on Columbia Heights, one hundred and thirty 
enemy sails, whitening the Narrows — the fleet 
* Todd’s “ Story of New York.” 


134 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


of Sir William Howe from Halifax, with the 
Boston veterans and reinforcements.” 

From this day on, during many weeks, there 
was so much of excitement and fear for those 
who favored the Cause, that even the girls ceased 
to speak of the man whose life they had saved. 

That the city would be attacked soon, every 
one understood, and there seemed hut little hope 
the American forces could successfully oppose 
the king’s army and navy combined. 

There were no longer any Tory-rides to be seen, 
and now it was the Whigs, or those who had 
celebrated the adoption of the Declaration, who 
were obliged to speak with caution. 

Then came the battle on Long Island, in which 
both Master Dean and Master Lamb took part, 
although not regularly enlisted men, and Mis- 
tress Lamb and Sarah came to make a long visit 
to the family on Hanover square. 

As a matter of fact, during all this while 
Dorothy and Sarah were not allowed on ♦the 
streets even in the daytime ; but old Scip came 
and went at his own sweet will, and, as may be 
supposed, brought all the news that could be 
gathered at the taverns or market-places. 

The rumble of heavy guns might have been 
heard almost continuously from early morning 
until late in the afternoon of the twenty-seventh 
of August, and in the living room of Master 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


135 


Dean’s home two women and two children sat 
silent, save at rare intervals when Scip brought 
rumors of American defeat, and well-nigh motion- 
less in the agony of suspense. 

During the forenoon the old darkey brought 
the cheering information that the patriot army 
was holding the Britishers in check ; but shortly 
after noon stragglers came across from Brooklyn 
declaring that the day had been lost, and the last 
proved to be the fact. 

Then eight and forty long, dreary hours of 
anxious waiting, without word from the two 
men who had left the little party alone in that 
house on Hanover square, that they might battle 
for the freedom of their country, and then Scip 
came with the information that every boat or 
vessel on the New York side of the harbor had 
been seized by orders of the Commander-in-chief, 
and drawn up at the ferry * on the Long Island 
shore. “ It was an odd fleet — sloops, sail-boats, 
galleys, periaugers,f flat-boats, row-boats and 
whale-boats.” 

All this could only point to the retreat of the 
American forces, and it can be partially under- 
stood in what condition of mind were these two 
women, wives of prominent Sons of Liberty. 

* The present Fulton ferry. 

f A canoe made from the trunk of a single tree hol- 
lowed out. — Cent. Diet. 


136 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


There were good reasons for fearing, not only 
the excesses of the British soldiers ; but ill-treat- 
ment from the Tories, who would most likely 
wreak revenge for the abuse received while the 
Americans were in undisturbed possession of the 
city. 

During the second night after the battle the 
women and children did not indulge in sleep, for 
the patriot soldiers were being ferried across the 
river, the first to arrive on the New York side 
receiving orders to bivouac in Hanover square. 

It was possible, during many hours, for the 
frightened ones to hear the tramp of men and 
rumble of wheels, and while listening to the 
sinister sounds they watched eagerly and fearfully 
for the coming of their loved ones. 

Not until the sun had risen, disclosing tents, 
clothing, baggage and all maimer of camp equi- 
page, soaked with rain, encumbering the square, 
did Masters Dean and Lamb present themselves 
to those who had waited so long and anxiously. 

They had passed through the battle uninjured ; 
but presented the appearance of men on the verge 
of exhaustion, and only after their wants had 
been ministered to by all in the house, was it 
possible for them to relate the sad story of honest 
defeat and some mistakes. 

“ Our army can no longer hold the city,” Master 
Dean said as he concluded his story in detail of 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


137 


the battle of Long Island. “Already are the 
people fleeing in every direction, and Tories stand 
on the street corners flaunting their loyalty to 
the king unrebuked ; they have even begun to 
threaten us, and I was told not an hour since, 
that this house is to be burned within eight and 
forty hours after Howe takes possession of the 
town, because, as that reptile, St. John New- 
comb, said, I am a viper, who, with all my brood, 
must be smoked out.” 

“If there is yet time, why do we not join 
those who are fleeing from the trouble to come ? ” 
Mistress Dean asked quickly, and her husband 
gave vent to a groan as he replied : 

“Because all the property I own is in the 
shop, and here, in addition to which, I am owing 
more bills than can be paid at once. It is with 
the hope of saving something out of the wreck 
that I remain ; but there is nothing to prevent 
you and Dorothy from leaving this very day.” 

Mistress Dean looked thoughtful, as if un- 
decided whether she should take advantage of 
her husband’s permission, when Mistress Lamb 
asked sharply: 

“Do you intend to remain, Anthony ? ” 

“ I must, my dear, and for the same reason 
friend Dean has given ; but I will say as does he, 
that both you and the child may go.” 

« Sarah and I will stay with you, Anthony 


138 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Lamb, and if disaster overtakes one, all three 
shall share equally in it,” Mistress Lamb said in 
a tone of determination, and her hostess could do 
no less than echo the words. 

During the sad conference which followed, it 
was decided that since the Lamb residence, being 
near the water front and likely to be visited by 
the land as well as the seaward approaches, was 
less secure than that on Hanover square, it would 
therefore be well for the families to live together 
until some better arrangement could be made. 

In addition, the two merchants were resolved 
to store the most valuable of their goods in the 
dwelling, and keep at their shops only such 
articles as would fail to tempt the cupidity of the 
mob. 

It seemed necessary to set about the work of 
removal at once, and Scipio was sent out to en- 
gage, if indeed that might be possible, a force of 
laborers to perform the work. 

That they were not to be separated immediately 
was a sad happiness to Dorothy and Sarah ; but 
they made no plans for the future, because of 
Master Newcomb’s threat, which still rang in 
their ears, and they were old enough to realize 
that within a very few days both might be home- 
less. 

Within eight and forty hours the plan as sug- 
gested by Master Dean had been carried into 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


139 


effect, by arduous and continuous labor. The 
goods were stored in attic and cellar, and from 
the house on Old Slip the more precious of Mis- 
tress Lamb’s belongings were added to the col- 
lection. 

“ It is sink or swim with us now, friend Lamb,” 
Master Dean said, when, the heavy task having 
been accomplished, the two men were taking that 
repose which by this time had become absolutely 
necessary. “ If it so be the Tories burn this house, 
and I do not question their will to do so, we are 
paupers in our old age, without so much as a 
shelter.” 

“ True, and we must be prepared for whatever 
may come. Our only hope is that General Howe 
may use his efforts to preserve the city for the 
king, and to fire a building in this dry season 
would be highly dangerous.” 

“ It is more likely that he will give his men 
permission to pillage the homes of the Whigs, in 
which case the Tories can take such part as will 
satisfy their desire for revenge. How many of 
the association will remain, do you know ? ” 

“ Not above six, as I have heard. It is rumored 
that our troops will evacuate the city to-night. 
The enemy has seized the islands in Harlem river, 
which shows that an immediate attack is to be 
expected.” 

“Then may God have mercy on us, for we can 


140 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


hope for but little from our new masters,” and 
the worthy silversmith bowed his head on his 
hands in an agony of despair. 

The two merchants made no effort to carry on 
their business during this time of suspense. In 
the first place it would have been dangerous, for 
the rough element of the city, knowing the 
American soldiers were powerless to prevent 
them, were already beginning to rob and ill-treat 
the better classes. Again, had Masters Dean and 
Lamb owned the most tempting goods to be 
found in all the colonies, they would have had no 
customers, since the greater majority of the 
Whigs had fled, and the Tories would not deal 
with them. 

Then came the hour when all the wagons and 
transports at the command of the Americans 
were employed in removing the sick and wounded 
to King’s Bridge, and it was confidently an- 
nounced that the able-bodied men would begin 
the retreat on the following day. 

When the Sunday morning came that they 
were to be left in New York without semblance 
of protection, the family in the house on Hanover 
square gathered at the breakfast table silent and 
sorrowful, to be aroused before the meal was 
finished, by the entrance of old Scip, who, with 
terror written on every feature of his face, 
shouted : 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


141 


“ De Britishers am pilin’ up ’roun’ Kip’s bay,* 
Massa Dean ? Dere’s five frigates, an’ more 
boats filled wid sojers dan you could count. Its 
gwine ter be mighty hot ’fore long ! ” 

This startling announcement had hardly been 
made, when the roar of heavy guns broke the 
stillness, and in an instant it was as if the earth 
literally trembled under the detonations. 

The second battle was on, and with the Ameri- 
cans ready for retreat, the result could not long 
be in doubt. 

As every reader knows, the British force drove 
our people like sheep. Before the sun set on that 
night the enemy was in possession of the city, 
and concerning the commencement of British 
rule in New York, the following brief but graphic 
account has been given : t 

“ It bore much the appearance of a dismantled 
town. Houses and stores were closed, bells re- 
moved from churches and public buildings, brass 
knockers from houses, everything portable and of 
value the flying people had taken with them. On 
Saturday, the 21st (September), at midnight, a 
fire broke out in a low groggery near Whitehall 
street, in the southeastern part of the town, and 

* The cove that now sets in from the East river at the 
foot of East Thirty-fourth street, was then known as 
Kip’s bay. 

f Todd’s “ Story of New York.” 


142 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


fanned by a strong south wind, swept like a 
prairie fire through the city. It ran up White- 
hall to Broadway, and up the east side of that 
thoroughfare to Beaver, where with a change of 
wind it leaped the street and sped on up the west 
side, sweeping everything clean to the North 
river. Trinity church, with its rectory and 
charity school, and the Lutheran church, were 
soon blackened heaps of ruins. St. Paul’s was 
saved only by the desperate efforts of citizens, 
who climbed out upon its flat roof and quenched 
live embers as they fell. The flames were only 
checked by the open grounds and stone buildings 
of King’s college. 

“ ‘ This fire was so furious and so violently hot 
that no person could go near it,’ wrote an eye- 
witness. ‘ If one was in one street and looked 
about, the fire broke out already in another street 
above, and thus it raged all night, and till about 
noon.’ . . . Four hundred and ninety-three 

houses and several churches were destroyed. 
The British jumped to the conclusion that the 
Americans were burning the town to prevent its 
serving them as winter quarters, and they bayo- 
neted several worthy citizens who were putting 
out the fire, and threw others into the flames ? 
under the impression that they were the in- 
cendiaries.” 

From the hour the British took possession of 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


143 


the city, until the fire, which has just been de- 
scribed, broke out, Masters Dean and Lamb re- 
mained in the house, believing it best not to show 
themselves publicly until after the first rejoicings 
of the Tories had come to an end. 

During this time the two merchants remained 
unmolested ; but this happy fact they attributed 
to the precautions taken ; the dwelling, being 
closely shuttered on the front and sides, gave 
curious ones the impression that its owner had 
fled when the majority of the Whigs sought 
safety elsewhere. Scipio was the only inmate 
who ventured abroad, and he was instructed to 
be particularly careful when departing from, or 
approaching the building, not to allow himself to 
be seen by such of the neighbors as yet remained 
in New York. 

Thus it was that when nearly a week had passed 
in safety to them, Masters Dean and Lamb had 
no hesitation in saying that there was good 
reason to believe they had acted wisely in staying 
to care for their property. 

« If we continue to be as cautious a week or so 
longer, there is little question but that we can 
open our shops with a prospect of doing sufficient 
business to keep our families from actual want,” 
the silversmith said on this evening before the 
fire broke out, and his friend replied : 

“I have misjudged some whom I had good 


144 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


reason to believe were my enemies, and partic- 
ularly Master Newcomb. He has been so bitter, 
even when it was dangerous to show hatred of 
Whigs, that I felt positive he would lose no time 
in paying off what he fancies are old scores.” 

“We have very much to be thankful for,” Mas- 
ter Dean said devoutly. “ Of a verity God has 
been good to us, and we should not neglect to 
give Him thanks.” 

Then the entire family, even including Scipio, 
knelt at prayer, and when the devotions had come 
to an end, and the children were in bed, Sarah 
said in a tone of relief : 

“ How good it seems not to be frightened all 
the time ! ” 

“ Indeed it does, and perhaps now we can go 
out of doors once in a while, or, at least, have the 
shutters open,” Dorothy replied with a laugh of 
content, and then the two tiny maids who had 
saved the life of Lieutenant Oakman, turned their 
entire attention to crossing the borders of dream- 
land. 

Half an hour after midnight the children 
awakened in terror as Master Dean cried shrilly : 

“ It appears as if the entire city was on fire ! 
Awaken, Anthony Lamb, for now has come our 
time of trial, if I mistake not ! The Britishers 
count on smoking us out like rats ! ” 

Hardly more than sixty seconds elapsed before 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


145 


the occupants of the house, only partially clad, 
were standing at the window through which the 
spy had been allowed to escape, gazing in fear 
and trembling at the leaping tongues of flame 
not many squares away, as they darted here and 
there with gigantic leaps and bounds. 

“ Think you this is the work of Howe’s men, or 
the Tories ? ” Master Lamb asked, and the silver- 
smith replied bitterly : 

“ The Britishers couldn’t have done this wicked- 
ness, for they need the town. It must have been 
the work of those whom we have met again and 
again as fellow citizens.” 

“ They have performed the task too well, for 
while the fire is raging so fiercely it will be im- 
possible for them to save their own dwellings. 
We yet have much to be thankful for, friend 
Dean. The flames are extending up Broad Way, 
and this building is like to escape destruction, 
unless other fires are kindled.” 

The cries of the people could be heard as they 
worked to save the doomed structures, or ran 
hither and thither with their portable property ; 
but in the vicinity of Hanover square the ut- 
most silence reigned until after the conflagration 
had been in progress an hour or more, when voices 
were suddenly heard near by, as if the speakers 
were approaching. 

“ It is the Tories who have done this dreadful 
10 


146 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


thing ! ” Master Lamb said in a low tone to the 
silversmith, as he clasped him by the hand. “ I 
doubt not but that Colonel Willett’s property 
was the first to feel the torch, and now our time 
has come. That is Newcomb’s voice, and we 
know he would not be in this quarter of the city 
unless to do us harm.” 

Master Dean leaned far out of the window and 
listened. In a few seconds it was possible to hear 
his own name spoken, and he, as his companion 
had done, recognized the voice. 

“ That scoundrelly Tory shall pay dearly for his 
mischief ! ” the silversmith cried in a rage. “ I 
may not be able to save my house, for doubtless 
he comes with a large crew of ruffians ; but this 
shall be the last building to which he will apply 
the torch ! ” 

He turned to go down- stairs; but Anthony 
Lamb stopped him by clutching his coat-collar. 

“ What would you do ? ” he asked sternly. 

“ Get the same weapons I used when we stood 
against the Britishers on Long Island, and shoot 
him down as I would a cur ! ” 

Dorothy and Sarah clung to their mothers’ 
dresses, terrified by the tone as well as the words, 
and the two women came forward as if to lay 
violent hands upon the angry silversmith; but 
Master Lamb was before them. 

“ You shall not do that thing, Jacob Dean ! ” 


THE CONFLAGRATION 


147 


he cried sternly. “ If it so be that these kindly 
neighbors of ours deprive us of a shelter, we will 
stand by and see it done, rejoicing that we are 
free and in each other’s company. To kill a Tory 
would be the same as signing your own death war- 
rant, whatever might be the provocation, for my 
lord Howe would not scruple to hang every Whig 
in the colony.” Then, seeing that Master Dean 
was not to be dissuaded because of possible danger 
to himself, he tried another line of argument. 
“ Think you that your wife and child are not in 
sore straits enough already, that you must pre- 
pare your neck for a British rope so they may be 
left without a protector ? Who would feed or 
shelter them after you were hanged ? Life is not 
yours to throw away while you have a woman 
and a child dependent upon you ! ” 

“Enough, Anthony Lamb! Enough! I am 
ever quick to speak without first weighing the 
cost. If it be that these scoundrelly Tories de- 
stroy our property without our striking a blow in 
self-defense, you shall see that I can look on as 
calmly as you, and when this dwelling has been 
burned, my shop and your buildings will be given 
over to the torch.” 

“ Since we can do nothing to prevent it, save 
at the expense of leaving our families alone in 
this world, let it be done, and we will say to our- 
selves, even when all we own is in ashes, that God 


148 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


has been good because our dear ones are with us 
alive, and in health.” 

Then Master Lamb knelt down, his head rest- 
ing on the window-ledge, and when the others 
had followed his example he prayed to that God 
who looks upon Whig and Tory alike, that they 
might have strength given them in the hour of 
their need. 

And as he prayed Master Newcomb, at the 
head of a party of twenty Tories, was walking 
rapidly toward Jacob Dean’s home, his small 
heart filled with the delight of wreaking venge- 
ance for the harsh words which had been show- 
ered upon him in the past. 


CHAPTER IX 


LIEUTENANT OAKMAN 

W hen Master Lamb’s prayer had been brought 
to a close, the inmates of the house, including the 
children, went to the lower floor expecting, and 
with good cause, that within a very few moments 
the conflagration would be increased by the de- 
struction of the buildings in Hanover square. 

They halted in the main hall, near the door 
leading to the street, because from that point 
some idea might be had as to what was going on 
outside, and were not kept long in suspense. 

Exclamations of anger, oaths, and a loud hum, 
as of many people speaking at the same time, 
could already be heard, and Master Lamb said 
as he took up his station at the door : 

“ I hope, Jacob Dean, that you will allow me 
to speak to our enemies as if I was master here, 
and indeed, except as to the value of the goods 
which will be destroyed, my interest is as great 
as yours.” 

As he spoke Master Lamb looked at Sarah and 
her mother, showing that there, instead of stored 
in attic or cellar, was his real treasure. 

149 


150 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


“ You will do well to take charge, Anthony 
Lamb,” the silversmith replied in a low tone. 
“ It is well known that your judgment is 
better than mine, although, argue as you may 
with those wolves outside, I question if any- 
thing of benefit to ourselves will be effected. 
They have come to destroy all save our lives, 
and soft words will not turn them from such a 
purpose.” 

This arrangement had hardly more than been 
made when there came a vigorous pounding on 
the door, and a voice familiar to the two merchants 
cried peremptorily : 

“ Open here, and be quick about it, for we can- 
not remain at this job overly long ! ” 

“ Is it Master Newcomb who speaks ? ” Master 
Lamb asked, without making any effort to open 
the door. 

“Ay, Anthony Lamb, it is Newcomb the Tory, 
as you would have spoken of me a month ago 
— Newcomb the traitor to his country, who has 
come to square accounts with you and the owner 
of this dwelling.” 

“ How mean you ? Is there an open account 
between us ? ” 

“ Indeed there is, and one wherein you show to 
be a heavy debtor. I have come to demand 
payment for all the harsh words, the insults and 
the contemptuous looks given by you since the 


LIEUTENANT OAKMAN 151 

rag-tag and bobtail of an army under the Virginia 
farmer came into the city.” 

“ Let us understand one another, Master New- 
comb, as men should who make ready to cry 
quits. What is the amount due from Master 
Dean and myself, according to your reckoning ? ” 

“ Everything you own in the city of New York, 
and I would have your lives as well, were it not 
that you will suffer more by living as paupers, 
for such you shall be before to-morrow’s sun 
rises ! My lord Howe believes in reprisals, 
therefore we may work our pleasure on such 
scum as you.” 

“ Then you have charged against our families 
that which you claimed was due only from us, 
since they must be the greatest sufferers if you 
reduce us to beggary.” 

“ And it is well they should, for then will you 
and the rascally silversmith be struck in the 
tenderest parts. Open, unless it is your wish that 
we batter down the door ! ” 

“ Do not parley with the ruffian, since it can 
effect nothing,” Master Dean cried. “ They have 
come intent on working the greatest possible 
amount of mischief, and we can neither say nor 
do anything to change their purpose.” 

“ Will you open ? ” Master Newcomb cried 
angrily. 

“ Since it is your intention to destroy this 


152 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


property, as you have doubtless begun the de- 
struction of that which is now in flames, it can- 
not serve us to give you ready entrance, there- 
fore come in by force, as do thieves and mur- 
derers.” 

“ Look about for something with which to 
force the door ! ” the Tory cried to his followers, 
and it was not necessary they should search very 
long, for the beam which had been brought into 
use when the Whigs were in search of a spy, lay 
conveniently near at hand. 

“ Here is that which will serve,” a voice from 
amid the vengeful throng cried, and Master New- 
comb shouted : 

“ Lay hold and swing it against the door. Two 
blows should be enough, and then the Whig silver- 
smith, who has made his money from profits paid 
by those whom he calls Tories, shall know what 
it means to be smoked out — he and his brood ! ” 

“ It will be well for us to stand near the 
kitchen door, and go out as they come in,” Master 
Lamb said hoarsely. “ It is not possible we can 
effect anything by words, and it would be folly 
to allow the women and children to remain while 
the work of destruction is going on. Save such 
things of value as can be readily carried, and I 
will hold them back from the rear of the house 
until you have safely escaped.” 

Master Dean shook his head moodily ; the 


LIEUTENANT 0 ARM AN 153 

knowledge that he was about to be rendered 
penniless seemed to have paralyzed him. 

“ It is as well that all should go together, for 
we will be plundered before arriving at a place 
of safety. Safety ? Is there such a place for 
us ? ” and the silversmith leaned his head against 
the stair rail as if his strength had suddenly de- 
serted him. 

A loud shouting from the street, followed al- 
most immediately by a heavy blow upon the 
oaken door, causing the very building to tremble, 
aroused Master Dean somewhat, and when his 
wife and Dorothy, flinging their arms around 
him, urged that he at least make one effort to- 
ward escape, the unhappy man slowly followed 
them in the direction of the kitchen, where stood 
Scipio with a bundle of clothing in his arms. 

There seemed to be no doubt but that the blow 
upon the door would be repeated immediately, 
and even as Mistress Lamb and Sarah urged An- 
thony to have care for himself by going with 
them, a second triumphant shout was heard. 

“ The door will give way this time,” Master 
Lamb said hoarsely, as he involuntarily stepped 
back a few paces, and at that very moment when 
there appeared to be no hope, a ringing voice was 
heard in the distance : 

“ Hold hard there, you scoundrels, or I shall 
open fire ! ” 


154 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


Jacob Dean heard the words as he was passing 
through the living room, and he ran swiftly back 
to where Master Lamb stood, crying nervously : 

“ Who is coming ? Who is coming ? ” 

“ I know not,” Anthony Lamb replied ; “ but it 
must be a friend whom God has raised up, for I 
believed of a verity there were none remaining in 
the city who would dare to lift a voice in our be- 
half.” 

“ The soldiers ! The soldiers ! ” the merchants 
heard several of those on the outside cry as if in 
alarm, and St. John Newcomb answered them by 
saying confidently : 

“ Hold your hands for a moment, and let them 
come. My lord Howe will permit no interference 
with our sport, when it is known whom we have 
here at bay.” 

Then the voice which had brought the Tories to 
a stand-still in their cruel work, asked sharply, 
and sounding now nearer at hand : 

“ What is the meaning of this ? Who has 
given you permission to break into the houses of 
honest citizens ? Who is the leader of this mob ? ” 

“ I, St. John Newcomb, may it please you ; but 
I object to the term ‘mob,’ for we be honest 
Tories, who are smoking out the most arrant Whig 
in this colony — one who has ill-treated us time 
and time again when Washington’s army of beg- 
gars held possession of the city.” 




LIEUTENANT OAKMAN 


155 


“ Do you dare tell me, knave, that on this night, 
when it seems that the entire city is doomed to 
destruction, you undertake to pay off old and 
personal reckonings ? ” 

“ Ay, an’ it please you. Now is the time when 
such as Jacob Dean and Anthony Lamb are given 
into our hands, even as God gave the Midianites 
to the mercy of the children of Israel, and who 
shall prevent us from wreaking our vengeance 
upon them ? ” 

“ You will speedily learn, Master Ranter, that 
the king’s officers do not permit anything of the 
kind. Withdraw, you and your following, or my 
men shall open fire, which, mayhap, will give you 
another cause to cry for vengeance ! ” 

“But, good sir,” Master Newcomb cried in a 
whining tone, and before he could say more the 
new-comer shouted impatiently : 

“You are allowed thirty seconds in which to 
get out of this square, and I will not listen to 
your idle words. And hark ye, Master St. John 
Newcomb, if it was you or any of your following 
who started the conflagration, I advise that you 
leave this town without delay, for my lord Howe 
will make short work of those who have thus 
destroyed one of his cities.” Then to the soldiers 
the command was given, “ Make ready ! Aim ! ” 

The shuffling of many feet told that the precious 
gang of Tories were making all speed to escape 


156 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


from the danger which menaced, and the silver- 
smith cried as he seized Master Lamb by the 
hands : 

“We should give thanks, friend Anthony, for 
of a verity have we been snatched out of the 
burning. God moves in many mysterious ways, 
and surely none are more wonderful than that our 
enemies concern themselves with the safety of 
two ardent Whigs.” 

“ It is marvelous ! ” Master Lamb said with a 
long-drawn sigh of relief. “ It must be that the 
officer who has arrived so opportunely believes 
that friends of the king live here.” 

“ Then surely he had time to learn his mistake, 
for the Tory Newcomb called us loudly by name.” 

“ I do not understand it,” Sarah’s father said 
half to himself ; but he was soon to be enlight- 
ened, for at that instant was heard a knocking at 
the door, and when the silversmith cried out to 
know who was there, the voice replied : 

“I would have speech with my young mis- 
tresses, Dorothy Dean and Sarah Lamb, if it so be 
they are within.” 

“ It is our poor, dear spy ! ” Dorothy cried 
loudly as she clasped Sarah by the neck and 
whirled dizzily around the hall in the excess of 
her joy. 

“ Ay, little maid,” the voice from without re- 
plied. “Your spy who would say to you that 


LIEUTENANT O ARM AN 157 

which was left unsaid on a certain night not so 
long ago.” 

By this time Master Dean opened the door, and 
a tall soldier stepped inside the hall as he raised 
his hat and said courteously : 

“ At your service, ladies and gentlemen. I am 
Lieutenant Fitzroy Oakman of his majesty’s 
Forty-fourth foot, an’ it please you. By a fortu- 
nate chance I heard that rabble which has just 
left the square, proposing to burn this dwelling, 
therefore I came to take a hand in the game, as 
is my right, since two of my friends reside here 
if I am not mistaken,” and before the master of 
the house could make reply, Dorothy and Sarah 
were by the officer’s side. 

The time when the silversmith would have 
been angry at seeing his child in converse with a 
Britisher, had gone by, and he made no protest 
when the soldier, embracing both the children, 
kissed them fervently, saying as he did so : 

“ These are from my own babies whose father’s 
life you saved, and if your parents be not averse, 
they shall send you many messages of the same 
kind, for by this time they must know and love 
the little maids who played so kindly gallant a 
part toward a sorely distressed enemy.” 

“ Will you be pleased to enter, sir ? ” Master 
Dean said as the officer released the children. 
“ If these babies of ours saved your life, you have 


158 


DOROTHY'S SPY 


saved us and them from poverty, which is some- 
times worse than death. I had never thought to 
he at peace with one of our foes ; but now I am 
your debtor so long as I remain in this world.” 

Then the silversmith, ardent Son of Liberty 
though he was, offered his hand in greeting to 
the visitor who had arrived so opportunely, and 
Master Lamb did the same as he added : 

“ Although our children acted under a delusion 
when you were set free from the chest, I rejoice 
heartily that so gallant a gentleman and such a 
good friend did not suffer the death of a spy.” 

“ I should have suffered only for the intention, 
if your good friends had put a noose around my 
neck, for verily I had learned nothing which could 
harm you or aid General Howe, when the hue 
and cry was raised against me,” Lieutenant Oak- 
man said with a laugh, and then he straightened 
himself up to be presented to the ladies. 

After the ceremony of an introduction, the res- 
cued party and their deliverer seated themselves 
in the best room, much like old friends, and Dor- 
othy and Sarah stood close on either side the 
guest. 

Lieutenant Oakman had already explained how 
it chanced that he arrived at the very moment 
when he was most needed ; but he professed to 
be curious as to the merchants’ plans for the 
future, whereupon Anthony Lamb explained all 


LIEUTENANT OAKMAN 


159 


that had been done by them, adding, that if they 
could be allowed to keep their shops open it 
would be possible to earn a livelihood. 

“ That you shall do, my friends, and I promise 
you the patronage of all whom I know in the 
army. General Howe already understands what a 
service these young maids rendered, and will glad- 
ly do what he may to your advantage, so that it 
give you no discredit with your own political 
party.” 

“ Could we accept favors from the man who 
has come to crush us ? ” Master Dean asked bit- 
terly ; but Master Lamb made no reply, although 
he looked wondrous pleased, for if the British 
commander-in-chief was disposed, both he and 
his brother merchant might count on prosperity, 
instead of being paupers, as would have been the 
case had Dorothy’s spy arrived half an hour 
later. 

“ Nay, you are receiving no favors from Lord 
Howe, my dear sir ; it is these dear little maids 
of mine who are favored, and however much may 
be done for them, I am not relieved from debt. 
Orders shall be given as soon as this terrible 
conflagration be checked, if it does not destroy 
the entire city, that you two are to be protected 
by our troops, therefore you need have no fear in 
replacing your valuables in the shops where they 
may be displayed. Greatly as it would pleasure 


160 


DOROTHY’S SPY 


me to remain in this goodly company, I am needed 
elsewhere, for soldiers are being stationed at vari- 
ous points to protect the property of the citizens ; 
but before going I crave a boon of you.” 

“ Since all we now have is due to you, sir, it 
can readily be understood that your wish is the 
same as a command.” 

“ But I would rather it were put differently, 
Master Dean. I do not care to accept favors 
which are granted under compulsion, as it were.” 

“ May we know what it is you desire, sir ? ” 
Master Lamb asked, fearing lest something might 
be said to arouse his friend’s anger. 

“ I crave permission to visit these little maids 
whenever it may be to their mothers’ convenience. 
Next to my own, I must love these young mis- 
tresses more than all else, and while in their com- 
pany I shall feel less keenly the homesickness 
which comes upon me when I allow myself to 
realize that I may never see my children again.” 

“ You will pleasure us by coming at your own 
time and so often as inclination leads you, sir,” 
Mistress Dean said heartily as she took the lieu- 
tenant’s hand, and at that moment the noise of 
hurrying feet, as people came into the square with 
such goods as had been saved from their burning 
homes, aroused the officer of the Fourty-fourth 
foot to a sense of duty. 

Hurriedly, but with the understanding that he 


LIEUTENANT OAKMAN 161 

would come again very soon, Dorothy’s spy took 
his departure, and the two Sons of Liberty who 
had been so happily relieved from danger, gave 
thanks to the Lord God that He had preserved 
them, through their children, at a moment when 
so many in the goodly city of New York were 
meeting death, or being rendered homeless. 

THE END 













